acronym
[ ak-ruh-nim ]
/ ˈæk rə nɪm /
noun
a word formed from the initial letters or groups of letters of words in a set phrase or series of words and pronounced as a separate word, as Wac from Women's Army Corps, OPEC from Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, or loran from long-range navigation.
a set of initials representing a name, organization, or the like, with each letter pronounced separately; an initialism.
an acrostic.
verb (used with object)
to make an acronym of: The committee's name has been acronymed MIKE.
grammar notes for acronym
See
abbreviation.
OTHER WORDS FROM acronym
ac·ro·nym·ic, a·cron·y·mous [uh-kron-uh-muh s] /əˈkrɒn ə məs/, adjective ac·ro·nym·i·cal·ly, adverbWORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH acronym
abbreviation acronym initialismWords nearby acronym
British Dictionary definitions for acronymed
acronym
/ (ˈækrənɪm) /
noun
a pronounceable name made up of a series of initial letters or parts of words; for example, UNESCO for the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization
Derived forms of acronym
acronymic or acronymous (əˈkrɒnɪməs), adjectiveWord Origin for acronym
C20: from
acro- +
-onym
Cultural definitions for acronymed
acronym
[ (ak-ruh-nim) ]
A word formed by combining the beginning letters of a name or phrase, as in WASP for white Anglo-Saxon Protestant, or by combining the initial syllables of a series of words, as in radar, which stands for radio detecting and ranging.
notes for acronym
Acronyms are often less clumsy than the complete expressions they represent and are easier to write and remember.