ABBREVIATIONS

An abbreviation is a shortened form of a word or phrase.

AA Alcoholics Anonymous
AARP American Association of Retired Persons
AAUP American Association of University Professors
ABC American Broadcasting Corporation
ACLD Association for Children with Learning Disabilities
ACM Associated Colleges of the Midwest
ACT American College Testing
A.D. Anno Domine
AFL American Football League or American Federation of
Labor
AIA Archaeological Institute of America
AM ante meridiem
ATM Automatic Teller Machine
ATV All Terrain Vehicle
B&B Bed and Breakfast
BC Before Christ
BCE Before Common Era
BBC British Broadcasting Corporation
BN Burlington Northern
BVD Bradley, Vorhees, and Day (manufacturers, 1876)
CB citizen's band
CBC Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
CBS Columbia Broadcasting Service
CE Common Era
CD certificate of deposit or compact disk
CIA Central Intelligence Agency
COD Cash On Delivery
CPA Certified Public Accountant
DC District of Columbia
DOA Dead On Arrival
DUI Driving Under the Influence
DWI Driving While Intoxicated
EBS Emergency Broadcast System
EMT Emergency Medical Technician
EPA Environmental Protection Agency
ER Emergency Room
ERA Earned Run Average
Equal Rights Amendment
ESL English as a Second Language
ESP Extra-Sensory Perception
FBI Federal Bureau of Investigation
GLCA Great Lakes Colleges Association
GNP Gross National Product
GOP Grand Old Party
GPA Grade Point Average
HEW Health, Education and Welfare, U.S. Dept. of
HMO Health Maintenance Organization
IEP Individualized Education Program
IMF International Monetary Fund
IMRF Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund
IPC Illinois Power Company
IRA Irish Republican Army or Individual Retirement Account
IRS Internal Revenue Service
JHU The Johns Hopkins University
LP long playing (record)
MD Medical Doctor
MIA Missing In Action
MIT Massachusetts Institute of Technology
MPG miles per gallon
NAACP National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
NCAA National Collegiate Athletic Association
NBA National Basketball Association
NBC National Broadcasting Company
NEA National Education Association
NFL National Football League or National Federation of Labor
NMSQT National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Tests
PBS Public Broadcast System
PEC Political Economy and Commerce
P.J.'s pajamas
PM post meridiem
POW Prisoner Of War
RCA Radio Corporation of America
RIP Requiescat In Pace = Rest In Peace
RPM Revolutions Per Minute
RSVP Respondez S'il Vous Plait (Respond If You Please)
SADD Students Against Drunk Driving
SAT Scholastic Aptitude Test
TIP To Insure Promptness
TV television
TWA Trans World Airlines
UCLA University of California at Los Angeles
UN United Nations
USA United States of America
USSR Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
VCR Video Cassette Recorder
WHO World Health Organization
WIU Western Illinois University
YMCA Young Men's Christian Association
YWCA Young Women's Christian Association

These abbreviations have become words:
deejay disk jockey
emcee master of ceremonies
jeep G.P. or Government P (=designator for "wheelbase reconnaisance car)
kayo knock-out
radar RA(dio) D(etecting) A(nd) R(anging)
ribbie runs batted in
veep vice-president

This material was placed on the web by Prof. Tom Sienkewicz for his students in CLAS224 Word Elements at Monmouth College in Monmouth, Illinois. If you have any questions about this material, you may contact him at toms@monm.edu.

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