Abbreviation or Acronyms is used to shorten a big name or a sentence. This technique is used in spoken conversation and written English because it is smart and easy way to remember or express the whole big name.

Basically, an Abbreviation or Acronyms is formed by the first letter or first some letters of the words of a name or sentence.

Abbreviation or Acronyms সাধারণত কোন নাম বা বাক্যের শব্দগুলোর প্রথম এক বা একাদিক অক্ষরের সমন্বয়ে গঠিত হয়।

Difference between Abbreviation and Acronyms:

Acronym is also a type of abbreviation but there is a difference between an abbreviation and an acronym. In Abbreviation the letters are spelled out or pronounced individually and not reads as a word.
But acronyms are pronounced as a word and not read letter by letter.

Abbreviation and Acronyms এর মধ্যে পার্থক্য:

Acronyms ও এক ধরনের abbreviation কিন্তু এদের মধ্যে একটা পার্থক্য রয়েছে।
Abbreviation এ প্রতিটি অক্ষরকে আলাদাভাবে উচ্চারণ করা হয় এবং এটাকে শব্দ হিসেবে পড়া হয় না ।
কিন্তু Acronyms কে একটি শব্দ হিসেবে উচ্চারণ করা হয় এবং Abbreviation এর মত প্রতিটি অক্ষরকে আলাদাভাবে উচ্চারণ করা হয় না।

Example: - ISO (International organization of Standardization) where the ‘I.S.O’ is pronounced individually.
- NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) where the ‘NATO’ is pronounced as a word.

The list of most common and useful abbreviations are given here-

Technology/ Computer:

• PDA – Personal Digital Assistance.
• ALU – Arithmetic Login Unit.
• RAM – Random Access Memory
• ROM –Read Only Memory.
• DVD – Digital Video Disk.
• CD –Compact Disk.
• CD-RW – Compact Disk Rewritable.
• ORM – Optical Mark Reader.
• USB – Universal Serial Bus.
• CAD – Computer Aided Design/Drafting.
• IPS – Instant Power System.
• UPS - Uninterruptible Power Supply
• AC- Alternating Current / Air Condition.
• DC – Direct Current.
• HP - Hewlett-Packard (A Company Name)/ Horse Power
• LASER – Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation
• RADER – Radio Detection And Ranging.
• ATM - Automated Teller Machine
• VoIP - Voice over Internet Protocol

Internet/ Web/Mobile:

• WWW- World Wide Web
• HTTP- Hyper Text Transfer Protocol.
• IP – Internet Protocol.
• GPRS- General Packet Radio Service.
• WAP - Wireless Application Protocol.
• SIM- Subscriber Identity Module.
• CDMA -Code Division Multiple Access.
• GSM-The Global System for Mobile Communications.
• EDGE -Enhanced Data Rates for Global Evolution.
• ISD – International Subscriber Dialing.
• FM- Frequency Modulation.
• ID – Identification.
• PIN - Personal Identification Number.
• CMS – Content Management System.

Organization/ Institute/ Business/Company/ Security:

• DIG – Deputy Inspector General of Police.
• GM- General Manager.
• CEO - Chief Executive Officer.
• HRD – Human Resources Department.
• IBM – International Business Machine.
• ISO - International Organization for Standardization.
• ISD – International Subscriber Dialing.
• BBC – British Broadcasting Corporation.
• CNN -Cable News Network.
• ESPN – Entertainment and Sports Programming Network
• NATO – North Atlantic Treaty Organization
• SWAT - Special Weapons And Tactics
• SWOR - Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats ( Analysis method).
• SME - Small and Medium Enterprise.
• WHO - World Health Organization.
• NGO - Non-Governmental Organization.
• BDS -Business Development Services.
• BBC - British Broadcasting Corporation.
• EU - European Union.
• IRS - Internal Revenue Service
• NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
• NATO - North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
• UNICEF - United Nations Children's Fund.
• FBI – Federal Bureau of Investigation.
• CIA – Central Intelligence Agency.
• POP – Post Office Protocol.

Time/ Zone/ Area:

• GMT - Greenwich Mean Time.
• GPS -Global Positioning System.
• AM- Ante Meridiem (Before noon, morning).
• PM – Post Meridiem (afternoon, evening).
• B.C. - Before Christ.
• EST - Eastern Standard Time.
• U.S.A. - United States of America.

Education/ Degree:

• Ph.D.- Doctor of Philosophy
• MBBS – Medicinae Baccalaureus, Baccalaureus Chirurgiae (Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery)
• FCPS-Fellow of College of Physicians and Surgeons
• B.A- Bachelor of Arts
• BBA- Bachelor of Business Administration
• MBA- Master of Business Administration
• CSE- Computer Science & Engineering
• MCS- Master of Computer Science
• M.Sc.- Master of Science
• LL.B. -Bachelor of Laws
• BDS- Doctor of Dental Surgery or Doctor of Dental Science
• ACCA-Association of Chartered Certified Accountants.
• IELTS- International English Language Testing System
• ISBN - International Standard Book Number

Study/Reading/Writing:

• E.g- Exempli gratia ( Latin which means ‘for example’).
• N.B.- Note Bene (Note Well)
• etc.- et cetera (And so on)
• Govt. - Government.
• i.e. (or i.e. / I.E.)- "id est" (Latin which means “That is (to say)" or "in other words").
• IQ- Intelligence Quotient
• Q&A - Question and Answer
• DOB – Date Of Birth
• FAQ- Frequently asked Questions

Medical/ Health:

• CBC –Complete Blood Count.
• ICU – Intensive Care Unit.
• CCU – Cardiac Care Unit.
• HIV -Human Immunodeficiency Virus.
• AIDS - Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome.

Weight/ Volume:

• gal. - gallon
• lb - pound
• oz - ounce
• pt - pint
• qt - quart
• wt. - weight
• vol. – volume
• kg - kilogram
• km- kilometer
• m - meter
• mg - milligram
• mm – millimeter
• in. - inch
• ft - foot
• mi - mile
• yd - yard

SMS/ Texting/ Chat:

• B4N - Bye for now
• ASAP - As soon as possible.
• NP - No problem
• TIC - Tongue in cheek
• OMG- Oh My God.
• KISS – Keep It Simple Stupid
• LOL – Laughing Out Loud
• BF – Boyfriend
• GF – Girlfriend

Miscellaneous

• VIP - Very Important Person
• IPL-Indian Premier League