This is an useful assortment of acronyms used around the internet, from text messages to IMs to comment sections. Countless people have assisted me in compiling this list, intentionally or without realizing it and I thank them all. I'm sure this list has room to expand some so feel free to email me any you feel I should add! If you're looking for a particular acronym, you can click on a letter to jump to acronyms starting with that letter.
[ A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z ]
| ABBREVIATION | MEANING |
|---|---|
| & | And |
| @ | At (usually used as part of an email address) |
| ^ | to the power of (2^2 means 2 to the power of 2, or 2 squared) |
| ^5 | High Five |
| 1FtR | One For the Road |
| 2 | To |
| 24/7 | 24 hours a day, 7 days a week |
| 2nite | Tonight |
| 2U | To You |
| 4 | For |
| 411 | information |
| A/N | Author's Note |
| A/S/L ASL |
Age/Sex/Location (usually a question) |
| A/S/L/M/H ASLMH |
Age/Sex/Location/Music/Hobbies (usually a question) |
| AA | Alcoholics Anonymous |
| AAK | Asleep At Keyboard |
| AAMOF | As A Matter of Fact |
| AAR | At Any Rate |
| ADN | Any Day Now |
| AEAP | As Early As Possible |
| AFAIC | As Far As I'm Concerned |
| AFAICT | As Far As I Can Tell |
| AFAIK | As Far As I Know |
| AFDN | Any F*cking Day Now... |
| AFK | Away From Keyboard |
| AI | Artificial Intelligence |
| AIM | AOL Instant Messenger |
| AISI | As I See It |
| AKA | Also Known As |
| AMBW | All My Best Wishes |
| AoE | Age of Empires (a computer game) |
| AOL | American OnLine |
| ASAP | As Soon As Possible |
| ATM | At The Moment Automatic Teller Machine |
| AYK | As You Know |
| AYT | Are You There |
| B&N | Barnes & Noble |
| b/c | Because |
| b/w | Black & White |
| B4 | Before |
| B4N | Bye For Now |
| B4U | Before You |
| B5 | Babylon 5 (a TV series) |
| BAK | Back At Keyboard (used as a followup to AFK) |
| BAM | By All Means |
| BAMF | Bad A$$ MotherF*cker |
| BAU | Business As Usual |
| BBIAF | Be Back In A Few |
| BBIAM | Be Back In A Minute/Moment |
| BBL | Be Back Later |
| BBN | Bye-Bye Now |
| BBS | Be Back Soon Bulletin Board System |
| BCC | Blind Carbon Copy |
| BCNU | Be Seein' You |
| BF | BoyFriend |
| BFD | Big F*cking Deal |
| BFG | Big F*cking Gun (used in numerous shooter games) Big F*cking Grin BattleFleet Gothic (a wargame) |
| BFTBG | Blood For The Blood God (Warhammer 40k reference to Khorne's battecry) |
| BIOYA | Blow It Out Your A$$ |
| BIOYIOP | Blow It Out Your Input/Output Port |
| BK | Burger King |
| BMF | Bad Mother-F*cker (term popularized by Samuel L. Jackson) |
| BMP | Bit MaP (a type of image file) |
| BOC | Blue Oyster Cult (a band) |
| BOFH | B@stard Operator From Hell |
| BOHIC(A) | Bend Over Here It Comes (Again) |
| BRB | Be Right Back |
| BRT | Be Right There |
| BS | BullSh*t Boy Scout Bachelor of Science degree name of a card game |
| BTA | But Then Again |
| BTDT | Been There, Done That |
| BTO | Bachman-Turner Overdrive (a band) |
| BTW | By The Way |
| BUFF | Big Ugly Fat F*cker, usually used as the nickname for the B-52 bomber |
| BWDIK | But What Do I Know |
| BYOB | Bring Your Own Beer |
| BYOW | Bring Your Own Weapons |
| C&C | Command & Conquer (computer game series) |
| C&G | Chuckle and Grin |
| c/o | Care Of |
| c/p | cross-posted |
| CA | Canada OR California |
| CBT | Classic BattleTech |
| CC | Carbon Copy |
| CCG | Collectaible Card Game |
| CCR | Creedance Clearwater Revival (a band) |
| CD | Compact Disc |
| CDIH | Cold Day In Hell |
| CFL | Canadian Football League |
| CID | Consider It Done |
| CIO | Cut It Out |
| CL | Craigslist |
| COD | Cash On Delivery |
| COTFLGUOAHAHA | Crawling On The Floor Laughing Guts Out And Having A Heart Attack |
| CPU | Central Processing Unit (the "brains" of your computer) |
| CR | Comprehensive Rules |
| CRS | Can't Remember Sh*t |
| CSL | Can't Stop Laughing |
| CSS | Can't Stop Smiling OR Cascading Style Sheet (a web design term) |
| CST | Central Standard Time |
| CU | See You |
| CUL CUL8R CUL8ER |
See You Later |
| CWYL | Chat With You Later |
| CYA | Cover Your A$$ |
| CYL | See You Later |
| D&D | Dungeons & Dragons (a very popular roleplaying game) |
| d00d | dude (in hacker-speak) |
| DBEYR | Don't Believe Everything You Read |
| DDR | Dance Dance Revolution (a video/arcade game) |
| DHTML | Dynamic HTML |
| DIAF | Die In A Fire! (an insult/curse) |
| DILLIGAF | Does It Look Like I Give A F*ck? |
| DIY | Do It Yourself |
| DJ | Disc Jockey |
| dk;dc | Don't Know, Don't Care |
DL |
Download |
| DOA | Dead or Alive (a video game) Dead On Arrival |
| DoW | Dawn of War (a computer game) |
| DQ | Disqualification |
| DRIB | Don't Read If Busy |
| DS | Deep Sh*t Dumbsh*t |
| DSL | Direct Service Link (a type of internet connection) |
| DVD | Digital Versatile Disc (sometimes mistaken as Digital Video Disc) |
| DWI | Dance With Intensity (computer version of DDR) |
| D-X | Degeneration X (a group of degenerate WWF wrestlers) |
| EA | Electronic Arts (a software company) |
| EB | Electroics Botique (a software retail store) |
| ECW | Extreme Championship Wrestling |
| <EG> | Evil Grin |
| ELO | Electric Light Orchestra (a band) |
| ELP | Emerson, Lake, and Palmer (a band) |
| EMLL | a Mexican wrestling federation |
| EMYL | E-Mail You Later |
| EOD | End of Discussion |
| EOF | End of File |
| EOM | End of Message |
| EOT | End of Thread |
| Ep | Episode |
| EPID | Every Person Is Different |
| ESAD | Eat Sh*t And Die |
| ESO | Equipment Smarter than Operator |
| EST | Eastern Standard Time |
| ETA | Estimated Time of Arrival |
| EU | European Union |
| EULA | End-User License Agreement |
| FAQ | Frequently Asked Questions |
| FAQL | Frequently Asked Questions List |
| FB | |
| FCFS | First Come First Served |
| FCOL | For Crying Out Loud |
| FF | Fantasy Football |
| FFL | Fantasy Football League |
| FG | Field Goal |
| FIFO | First In, First Out |
| FIOFY | Figure It Out For Yourself |
| FO | F*ck Off |
| FOAD | F*ck Off And Die |
| FOS | Full Of Sh*t Freedom of Speech |
| FPS | First Person Shooter (a type of computer game) |
| FPSFP | Front Page Sports: Football Pro (now defunct football games series) |
| FROG | Fully Reliant On God |
| FS | For Sale |
| FT | For Trade (or sometimes Free Trade) |
| FTA | From The Article |
| FTBOMH | From The Bottom Of My Heart |
FTF |
Face To Face |
| FTFM | Fixed That For Myself |
| FTFY | Fixed That For You |
| FTP | File Transfer Protocal (used to upload files from your computer to a website) |
| FTR | For The Record |
| FTW | F*ck The World |
| FU | F*ck You |
| FUBAB | F*cked Up Beyond All Belief |
| FUBAR | F*cked Up Beyond All Recognition |
| FWIW | For What It's Worth |
| FYA | For Your Amusement |
| FYI | For Your Information |
| <g> | Grin |
| GAL | Get A Life |
| GBCW | Good-Bye Cruel World |
| GBTW | Get Back To Work |
| GDI | God D@mnit |
| GF g/f |
GirlFriend |
| GFN | Gone For Now |
| GFY | Go F*ck Yourself |
| GG | Good Game (traditionally said to your opponent after any online game) Gotta Go |
| GGN | Gotta Go Now |
| GIGO | Garbage In, Garbage Out |
| GIS | Google Image Search |
| GL | Good Luck |
| GLBT | Gays, Lesbians, Bisexuals, & Transexuals |
| GLYASDI | God Loves You And So Do I |
| GM | General Motors OR Games Moderator |
| GMAB | Give Me A Break |
| GMT | Greenwich Mean Time (aka Universal Time) |
| GMTA | Great Minds Think Alike |
| GnR | Guns n' Roses (a rock band) |
| GR8 | Great |
| GTA | Grand Theft Auto (a video game) |
| GTFO | Get The F*ck Out |
| GTG G2G |
Got To Go |
| GTH | Go To Hell |
| GW | Games Workshop (makers of Warhammer & other games) |
| G-X | Generation X (or Generation neXt if you drink Pepsi) |
| <H> | Hug |
| h/o | Hold On |
| H8 | Hate |
| HAND | Have A Nice Day |
| HAY (or HAU) | How Are You |
| HFS | Holy F*cking Sh*t |
| HHGTTG | Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy |
| HK | Hunter-Killer (usually in reference to some kind of military harware, like a missile) |
| HMS | Her Majesty's Ship |
| HOAM | Hold On A Moment |
| HOAS | Hold On A Second |
| HP | Harry Potter Hewlett-Packard (a computer company) Hit Points |
| HS | Holy Sh*t OR High School |
| HTF | Hard To Find OR How The F*ck |
| HTH | Hope This Helps |
| HTML | HyperText Markup Language (main programming language of the internet) |
| HTTP | HyperText Transfer Protocal |
| I/O | Input/Output |
| IAC | In Any Case |
| IAE | In Any Event |
| IAWTAC | I Agree With This Agreeing Comment |
| IAWTC | I Agree With This Comment |
| IBTD ID2D |
I Beg To Differ |
| IC | I See OR In Character (i.e. a roleplay) |
| ICON | I Cower Over Nothing |
| ICQ | I Seek You; also an free internet "pager" service |
| ICTYBTIHTKY | I Could Tell You But Then I'd Have To Kill You |
| ID4 | Independance Day (usually in referance to the movie) |
| IDGI | I Don't Get It |
| IDK | I Din't Know |
| IFF | if and only if OR Identification Friend or Foe |
| IIRC | If I Recall Correctly |
| IK | Iron Kingdoms (fiction setting for an RPG and the Warmachine game) |
| ILBL8 | I'll Be Late |
| ILL | Inter-Library Loan |
| ILU ILY |
I Love You |
| IM | Instant Message |
| IMDb | Internet Movie DataBase |
| IMHO | In My Humble/Honest Opinion |
| IMMOR | I Make My Own Rules |
| IMNSHO | In My Not So Humble Opinion |
| IMO | In My Opinion |
| INPO | In No Particular Order |
| IOW | In Other Words |
| IR | InfaRed |
| IRC | Internet Relay Chat |
| IRL | In Real Life |
| ISC | I Stand Corrected |
| ISO | In Search Of |
| ISP | Internet Service Provider |
| IWIK | I Wish I Knew |
| IYD | In Your Dreams |
| IYF | In Your Face |
| IYH | In Your House |
| IYKWIM | If You Know What I Mean |
| j/c | Just Checking |
| j/k | Just Kidding |
| j/w | Just Wondering |
| JFF | Just For Fun |
| JFK | Just For Kicks John Fitzgerald Kennedy (former US president) |
| JFTR | Just For The Record |
| JIC | Just in Case |
| JKR | J.K. Rowling (Harry Potter author) |
| JM2C | Just My Two Cents |
| JMHO | Just My Humble/Honest Opinion |
| JMO | Just My Opinion |
| JP | Japan Jurassic Park (a book/movie) Judas Priest (a band) |
| JRD | Joy! Rapture! Divinty! |
| <K> | Kiss |
| k | Okay |
| KIA | Know It All OR Killed In Action OR Kia (a car company) |
| KISS | Keep It Simple, Stupid OR Knights In Satan's Service (also a rock band) |
| KIT | Keep In Touch |
| KMA | Kiss My A$$ |
| KO | Knock Out |
| KOTC | Kiss On The Cheek |
| KOTL | Kiss On The Lips |
| KotR | King of the Ring (usually refering to the WWF PPV of that name) |
| KTFO | Knocked The F*ck Out |
| KUTGW | Keep Up The Good Work |
| KWIM | Know What I Mean |
| l33t 1337 |
Elite (someone who types in leet-speak/hacker-speak) |
| L8R | Later |
| LAN | Local Area Network |
| LAQ | Lame-Ass Quote |
| LD l/d |
Long Distance |
| LDR | Long Distance Relationship |
| LGBT | Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals, & Transexuals |
| LGS | Local Gaming Store |
| LGT | Link Goes To |
| LJ | LiveJournal |
| LLAP | Live Long And Prosper |
| LMA | Leave Me Alone |
| LMAO | Laughed/Laughing My Ass Off |
| LMC | Lost My Connection |
| LMCOA | Lost My Connection Once Again |
| LMK | Let Me Know |
| LMTFA | Leave Me The F*ck Alone |
| LOL | Laughing Out Loud OR Lots of Laughs OR Lots of Luck OR Lots of Love OR Little Old Lady |
| LotR | Lord of the Rings (usually refering to the book/movie by that name) |
| LSHIS | Laughed So Hard It's Silent |
| LTNS | Long Time No See |
| LYB | Love You Back Love You Babe |
| M8 | Mate |
| M8s | Mates |
| MC M/C |
Master of Ceremonies |
| MCU | Marvel Cinematic Universe |
| MF | Motherf*cker |
| MI M:I |
Mission Impossible, usually refering to the movie |
| MIA | Missing In Action |
| MIB | Mint in Box |
| MILF | Mom I'd Like to F*** (usually used as a noun, comes from the movie "American Pie") |
| MIP | Mint in Package |
| MLB | Major League Baseball |
| MLS | Major League Soccer |
| MMORPG | Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game |
| MNF | Monday Night Football |
| MODO | Magic Online Digital Objects. Better known as MTGO. |
| MOTD | Message of the Day |
| MP | MultiPlayer Military Police |
| MPAA | Motion Picture Association of America |
| MPG | Miles Per Gallon |
| MS | Microsoft |
| msg | message |
| MSG | Madison Square Garden |
| MSM | MainStream Media |
| MSN | MicroSoft Network |
| MST | Mountain Standard Time |
| MTE | My Thoughts Exactly |
| MtG | Magic: The Gathering |
| MTGO | Magic: The Gathering Online |
| MW | MechWarrior (a game) |
| M-W | Merriam-Webster dictionary |
| MYB | Mind Your Business |
| MYOB | Mind Your Own Business |
| n/a | Not Applicable Not Affiliated |
| n/m | Never Mind |
| n/p NP |
No Problem |
| n/t | No Text |
| n1 | Nice One |
| N2M | Not To Mention |
| NADM | Never A Dull Moment |
| NAFTA | North American Free Trade Agreement |
| NAGI | Not A Good Idea |
| NAV | Norton Anti-Virus |
| NBA | National Basketball Assocation |
| NBL | Not Bloody Likely |
| NCAA | National College Athletics Association |
| NE1 | Anyone |
| NFL | National Football League |
| NFLE | National Football League Europe (the NFL's developmental league) |
| NFS | No F*cking Sh*t! |
| NFW | No F*cking Way |
| NG | NewsGroup |
| NGT | Not Gonna Tell |
| NHL | National Hockey League |
| NIFOC | Naked In Front Of Computer |
| NIM | No Internal Message |
| NM | No Message |
| NMP | Not My Problem |
| NQA | No Questions Asked |
| NR | Not Recieved OR No Response |
| NRA | National Rifle Association |
| NRFB | Never Removed From Box |
| NRN | No Reply Needed/Neccesary |
| NSA | No Strings Attached |
| NSFW | Not Safe For Work |
| NSS | No Sh*t Sherlock |
| nvm | Nevermind |
| nWo | New World Order (a wrestling group) |
| NWO | New World Order, a secretive but powerful group supporting a one world government |
| NYC | Now You See New York City |
| NZ | New Zealand |
| OBO | Or Best Offer |
| OBTW | Oh, By The Way |
| OD | Overdose |
| OIC | Oh, I See |
| OKC | OkCupid |
| OLL | OnLine Love |
| OMG | Oh My God |
| OMIF | Open Mouth, Insert Foot |
| OMIK | Open Mouth, Insert Keyboard |
| OOC | Out Of Character (i.e. not a roleplay) |
| OOL | Out Of Luck |
| OOP | Out Of Production Out Of Print |
| OP | Original Poster |
| ORG | Organization (usually part of a internet address) |
| OS | Operating System |
| OT | Off Topic |
| OTC | Over The Counter |
| OTOH | On The Other Hand |
| OTP | Over The Phone OR One True Pair (fandom term) |
| OTT | Over The Top |
| OTTOMH | Off The Top Of My Head |
| p/t | Part Time (usually refering to a job which is not full-time) |
| PC | Personal Computer Politically Correct Political Correctness |
| PCM | Please Call Me |
| PDA | Public Display of Affection Personal Digital Assitant (aka Palm Pilot) |
| Portable Document Format (file format used by Adobe Acrobat Reader) Pretty Damn Fast Pretty Damn Funky |
|
| PDQ | Pretty Damn Quick |
| PITA | Pain In The A$$ |
| pls (or plz) | Please |
| POS | Piece Of Sh*t Parent Over Shoulder |
| POV | Point Of View |
| PPG | Points Per Game |
| PPPPPP | Prior Planning Prevents Piss Poor Preformance |
| PS | Post-Script (a sort of add-on note at the end of a message) PlayStation (a game console - PS2 is a Playstation 2, PS3 is a Playstation 3) |
| PST | Pacific Standard Time |
| PTB | Powers That Be |
| PTMM | Please Tell Me More |
| pw pwd |
Password |
| Q&A | Questions and Answers |
| QFT | Quoted For Truth |
| QnD (Q&D) | Quick-n-Dirty |
| QOTD | Quote of the Day |
| qt | Cutie |
| R | Are |
| R&B | Rhythm and Blues |
| R&D | Research & Development |
| R&R | Read & Respond/Reply Rest & Relaxation |
| RA | Red Alert (usually refering to the computer game) Resident Assistant (college-related term) |
| RAM | Random Access Memory (type of computer memory) |
| RC | Royal Crown (a soda company) |
| RE | Regarding |
| REM | Rapid Eye Movement (a state of sleep); also the name of a band |
| RIP | Rest In Peace |
| ROM | Read-Only Memory (type of computer memory) |
| ROTFL | Rolling On The Floor Laughing |
| ROTFLMAO | Rolling On The Floor Laughing My A$$ Off |
| RPG | Role-Playing Game |
| RTBS | Reason To Be Single |
| RTFA | Read The F*cking Article |
| RTFC | Read The F*cking Card |
| RTFF | Read The F*cking FAQ |
| RTFM | Read The F*cking Manual |
| RTS | Real-Time Strategy (a type of game) |
| RU | Are You |
| RUF2T RYFTT |
Are You Free To Talk |
| RUMORF | Are You Male or Female? |
| RUOK | Are You Okay |
| <s> | Smile |
| S&M | Sado-Masichism Symphony & Metallica (a music CD) |
| S&N | Smile & Nod |
| SB | Super Bowl |
| SCSA | Stone Cold Steve Austin (a pro wrestler) |
| SF | Sci-Fi (Science Fiction) |
| SFW | Safe For Work |
| sig | Signature (the lines of customizable text that appear at the end of email messages) |
| SJW | Social Justice Warrior (usually used as a perjative) |
| SMF | Sick Motherf*cker (coined by fans of band Twisted Sister) |
| SMH | Shake My Head |
| SNAFU | Situation Normal - All F*cked Up |
| SOHF | Sense of Humor Failure |
| SOL | Sh*t Out of Luck |
| SOP | Standard Operating Procedure |
| SorG | Straight or Gay |
| ST | Star Trek |
| ST:DS9 | Star Trek: Deep Space 9 |
| ST:TNG | Star Trek: The Next Generation |
| ST:TOS | Star Trek: The Original Series |
| ST:VOY | Star Trek: Voyager |
| STD | Sexually Transmitted Disease |
| STFU | Shut the F*ck Up |
| STP | Stone Temple Pilots (a band) |
| SW | Star Wars |
| sXe | straight edge |
| T&A | Tits & A$$ (a referance to shallow sexual content) |
| T_FKA | The [something] Formerly Known As |
| TA | Total Annihilation (a computer game) |
| TAFN | That's All For Now |
| TANSTAAFL | There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch |
| TBS | That's BullSh*t OR Turner Broadcasting Station (a cable channel) |
| TFTT | Thanks For The Tip |
| TGIF | Thank God It's Friday |
| thnx thx tx txs |
Thanks |
| TK | Team Kill |
| TKO | Technical Knock-Out |
| tl;dr | Too Long; Didn't Read |
| TLA | Three Letter Acronym |
| TLC | Tender Loving Care The Learning Channel |
| TMI | Too Much Information |
| TourNaMent, a wrestling simulator | |
| TnT | Dyanmite |
| TNT | Tried N' True Turner Network Televsion (a cable channel) |
| TOC | Table Of Contents |
| TOY | Thinking Of You |
| TPTB | The Powers That Be |
| TS | Tough Sh*t OR Totally Stupid |
| TSFKAJRS | The Stadium Formerly Known As Joe Robbie Stadium. Term created by Curt Fennell |
| TTFN | Ta-Ta For Now |
| TTY | Talk To You Thanks To You |
| TTYL TTUL |
Talk To You Later |
| TY t/y |
Thank You |
| TYVM | Thank You Very Much |
| U | You |
| u2 | You Too (or the band U2, if capitalized) |
| UK | United Kingdom (Great Britain) |
| URL | Uniform Resource Locator (aka a internet address) |
| US | United States Uncle Sam |
| USA | United States of America |
| USAF | United States Air Force |
| USFL | United States Football League (now defunct) |
| USMC | United States Marine Corps |
| USN | United States Navy |
| VD | Venereal Disease |
| VG | Very Good |
| VR | Virtual Reality |
| <W> | Wink |
| w/ | With |
| W/B | Welcome Back |
| W/E | Whatever |
| w/o | Without |
| W3C | World Wide Web Consortium |
| W40k | Warhammer 40k (a minatures wargame) |
| W8 | Wait |
| WB | Welcome Back Warner Brothers WB Network (a TV channel) |
| WCW | World Championship Wrestling |
| WFM | Works For Me Wait For Me |
| WH | Warhammer (a minatures wargame) |
| WHFB WFB |
Warhammer Fantasy Battles (a minatures wargame) |
| WHFO | When Hell Freezes Over |
| WIP | Work in Progress |
| WOMBAT | Waste of Money, Brains, And Time |
| WoW | World of Warcraft (an MMORPG) |
| WRT | With Regard To |
| WTB | Want To Buy |
| WTD | Want To Deal |
| WTF | What The F*ck / Who The F*ck / When The F*ck / Why The F*ck / Where The F*ck |
| WTFN | Why The F*ck Not |
| WTFTMI | Way The F*ck Too Much Information |
| WTG W2G |
Way To Go |
| WTH | What The Hell? |
| WTMI | Way Too Much Information |
| WTT | Want To Trade |
| WU? | What's Up |
| WWE | World Wrestling Entertainment |
| WWF | World Wildlife Federation (and formerly World Wrestling Federation) |
| WWJD | What Would Jesus Do |
| WWW | World Wide Web (the internet) |
| WWYD | What Would You Do? |
| WYSIWYG | What You See Is What You Get |
| xlnt | Excellent |
| XOXO | hugs & kisses |
| Y2k | Year 2000 |
| YFF | Your Friend Forever |
| YFLT | Your Friendly List Tyrant (nickname for discussion list moderators) |
| YHBW | You Have Been Warned |
| YHTBT | You Had To Be There |
| YK | You Know |
| YKWIM | You Know What I Mean |
| YM | Yahoo Messenger |
| YMMV | Your Mileage May Vary |
| YOLO | You Only Live Once |
| YT? | You There? |
| zzz | sleep |