277 top English abbreviations from texting to acronyms to slang

Compliment your language knowledge with these incredibly useful English abbreviations & acronyms.

While focusing on acing your exams and prep courses can be a great way to learn English, there’s much more to the language than what you’ll learn in class. Indeed, many English learners find that navigating formal classes and real life can be two entirely different things. And what’s one thing that most textbooks don’t cover? Abbreviations.

Knowing some common abbreviations in English will help you acclimate better to daily life in English. Most people use abbreviations daily to save time, make their speech more casual, and be more concise. Plus, English has a few words that are so long you’ll be begging for a way to shorten them!

From texting with friends to dealing with bureaucratic government agencies, you’ll find no way to escape all the popular acronyms, initialisms, and abbreviations. So, why not start now, before you make a faux pas by misunderstanding someone’s abbreviations? Similarly to English slang, you’ll want to take some time to study some abbreviations before you run into them in the wild.

Now, before we keep you waiting even longer, let’s dive into the English abbreviations!

What are abbreviations?

Abbreviations are shortened forms of words and phrases. While some abbreviations are informal in nature and border on slang, many of them are also appropriate in formal contexts. In fact, some of the most common abbreviations are “Mr.” and “Mrs.” which are almost exclusively used in formal contexts.

Types of abbreviations included in this article:

The words “abbreviations” and “acronyms” are often used interchangeably, although there are some important differences between the two. In fact, there are

• Acronyms. An acronym is a word that is made up of the first letter of a group of words and is read like a single word. For example, NATO is pronounced as a single word, making it an acronym.
• Initialisms. Initialisms are similar to acronyms, except that each letter is read individually. For example, RSVP is an initialism, as you say each letter one by one.
• Portmanteaus. A portmanteau is a combination of two words, such as motel being a motor hotel.
• Clipped words. Clipped words are some of the most common types of abbreviations, as they are just shortened words. For example, abbreviating January as “Jan” is an example of a clipped word.
• Contractions. Contractions are two or three words combined with the use of apostrophes, such as won’t, should’ve or couldn’t’ve.

Although there are more types of contractions, these are by far the most common ones. And with 275 examples in this article alone, you’ll have no shortage of abbreviations to study with just these five types!

Top common English abbreviations

There are thousands of common English abbreviations out there that are worth studying. However, it’s not a good idea to try to learn too many of them at once. n fact, abbreviations are continuously changing with the trends, so you couldn’t possibly learn all of them even if you wanted to. So, just relax, and enjoy learning some fun (and fast!) new ways to say a few words and phrases that you were already familiar with.

Here are the top abbreviations and acronyms.

Texting abbreviations

Texting is essential if you want to maintain friendships with your English-speaking friends. While this can be a great way to improve your language, it can also be difficult to follow along when every other word is a texting-specific abbreviation. Luckily, you’ve got this handy table to show you some of the most common texting abbreviations!

Business abbreviations and acronyms

Abbreviations and acronyms are extremely important — even in the business world. This is especially important as English is one of the top languages for business, making these business acronyms extra important for anyone looking to make big business in one of the English-speaking countries.

Here are some of the most common business abbreviations and acronyms you might run into at the office.

Abbreviations for time and space

You might already be familiar with some of these if you know how to tell time in English. Truthfully, many of these are used across languages, and a big chunk of them have origins in Latin. So, if you speak one of the Romance languages, you may already have a few of these in the bag!

English abbreviations for months

Learning the months in English is one of the first things on any English learner’s agenda. But what about abbreviations? Truthfully, you’ll see the abbreviated versions of the months much more often, especially on event invitations and Zoom call invites.

Here are the most common abbreviations for all 12 months of the year in English.

Abbreviations for days of the week

Another big ticket item on an English learner’s agenda is learning the days of the week in English. Unlike other abbreviations in this article, the days of the week only use one or two letters for their shortened version. In fact, most of these are initialisms, although most initialisms are reserved for phrases or groups of words.

Professions abbreviation

Abbreviating your profession is extremely common, especially for business cards and email signatures. Even if you’re not looking to do business in an English-speaking country, knowing these professions abbreviations will help you understand what those letters in people’s email signatures mean!

Abbreviations for education

Similar to professional abbreviations, educational abbreviations are used in business cards and email signatures. Instead of indicating a person’s current occupation, these abbreviations help people easily explain their level of education and any professional certifications they possess. These are usually initialisms and will follow a person’s full name after a comma.

Abbreviations for measurements

The United States is one of the very few countries that still uses the Imperial measuring system, so you’ll have to get used to much more than just a new set of abbreviations if you’re not from here! Although measuring in inches and feet rather than meters and centimeters can take some getting used to, we can help you get started with the abbreviations for measurements so you at least know what people are talking about.

English slang abbreviations

Just as in any other language, slang is a crucial part of everyday conversations in English. However, even if you’re already familiar with English slang, you might be surprised to find out that slang words and phrases can be abbreviated too! You’ll get this as you continue making friends and having conversations, but for now, here’s a list of the most common English slang abbreviations.

English abbreviations by country

As a global language, English has many regional variations with their own distinct vocabularies. Although most English speakers can understand each other, perhaps it’d be difficult for someone with a heavy Essex accent to communicate with someone with a deep Southern accent. Not only are the accents different, but so is much of the slang.

Even if you stick to purely professional speech, there are many government agencies that don’t translate well across countries. Even within the USA, two abbreviations can mean different things depending on the context. So, let’s take a look at some local abbreviations by country.

Global

Before we dive into the different countries, let’s take a look at some abbreviations of global importance. These are abbreviations that either encompass several countries or straight-up involve the entire world, so make sure to keep them in mind!

The United States

As a large and dynamic country, it’s very difficult to narrow down the abbreviations and acronyms used from coast to coast. Even within states, regional slang can vary significantly, as evidenced by the enormous difference between New York slang and California slang. With that said, there are a few essential acronyms and abbreviations that everyone must learn before stepping foot on U.S. soil.

The United Kingdom

Whether you’re just visiting the United Kingdom or planning to move there, there are a few abbreviations and acronyms you’ll want to get familiar with before you board your flight. Here are some of the most common United Kingdom abbreviations.

Australia

If you’re visiting Australia soon, you must start preparing for the sheer number of abbreviations you will hear on a daily basis. Rather than an abundance of initialisms or acronyms, most Australian abbreviations are in the form of clipped words, usually as a shortened form of the first half of a word with a cute ending. You’ll see what we mean in the table below.

Other English acronyms

As we promised earlier, we’ve got English acronyms for you! While these don’t fall into any particular category, they are all extremely helpful and worth at least being aware of. We’re sure you’ll run into them in the wild at some point, and when you do, don’t forget to think about us!

Skip the line and level up your English with abbreviations

Now that you know 275 different abbreviations, from texting abbreviations to acronyms don’t be shy to start using them! The more often you use these English acronyms and abbreviations, the sooner you’ll become proficient in them — and the more time you’ll save!

If you feel like you’ve already got these under control, why not try out our list of the hardest words in English? We’ve got over 250 incredibly challenging words, so you’re sure to find a few tricky new words regardless of your level! And if even that’s a piece of cake, take a look at our English language blog. We’re sure you’ll find something that will pique your interest!