Acronyms & abbreviations listed: 548
Last updated: March 2009
This is an useful assortment of acronyms mostly used on the internet. 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! You might also find my Postal Codes page useful if someone tells you what state they live. If you're looking for a particular acronym, you can click on a letter to jump to acronyms starting with that letter.
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| ABBREVIATION | MEANING |
|---|---|
| @ | 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 |
| & | And |
| 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 |
| AAR | At Any Rate |
| AAMOF | As A Matter of Fact |
| 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 |
| AYK | As You Know |
| AYT | Are You There |
| ATM | At The Moment Automatic Teller Machine |
| b/c | Because |
| b/w | Black & White |
| B&N | Barnes & Noble |
| 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$$ MotherF*cker |
| BAU | Business As Usual |
| BBIAF | Be Back In A Few |
| BBIAM | Be Back In A Minute/Moment |
| BBL | Be Back Later |
| BBN | Bye-Bye Now |
| BBS | Be Back Soon Bulletin Board System |
| BCC | Blind Carbon Copy |
| BCNU | Be Seein' You |
| BF | BoyFriend |
| BFD | Big F*cking Deal |
| BFG | Big F*cking Gun (used in numerous shooter games) Big F*cking Grin BattleFleet Gothic (a wargame) |
| BFTBG | Blood For The Blood God (Warhammer 40k reference to Khorne's battecry) |
| BMF | Bad Mother-F*cker (term popularized by Samuel L. Jackson) |
| BOC | Blue Oyster Cult (a band) |
| BIOYA | Blow It Out Your A$$ |
| BIOYIOP | Blow It Out Your Input/Output Port |
| BK | Burger King |
| BMP | Bit MaP (a type of image file) |
| BOFH | B@stard Operator From Hell |
| BOHICA | Bend Over Here It Comes |
| BRB | Be Right Back |
| BRT | Be Right There |
| BS | BullSh*t Boy Scout Bachelor of Science degree (also 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 |
| 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-X | Degeneration X (a group of degenerate WWF wrestlers) |
| 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 |
| DILLIGAF | Does It Look Like I Give A F*ck? |
| DIAF | Die In A Fire! (an insult/curse) |
| 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) |
| <EG> | Evil Grin |
| EA | Electronic Arts (a software company) |
| EB | Electroics Botique (a software retail store) |
| ECW | Extreme Championship Wrestling |
| ELO | Electric Light Orchestra (a band) |
| ELP | Emerson, Lake, and Palmer (a band) |
| EMLL | a Mexican wrestling federation |
| 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 |
| EMYL | E-Mail You Later |
| FAQ | Frequently Asked Questions |
| FAQL | Frequently Asked Questions List |
| 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) |
| FTBOMH | From The Bottom Of My Heart |
|
FTF |
Face To Face |
| 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 |
| G-X | Generation X (or Generation neXt if you drink Pepsi) |
| GAL | Get A Life |
| 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) |
| <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 |
| IK | Iron Kingdoms (fiction setting for an RPG and the Warmachine game) |
| IIRC | If I Recall Correctly |
| ILBL8 | I'll Be Late |
| ILL | Inter-Library Loan |
| ILU ILY |
I Love You |
| IM | Instant Message |
| IMDb | Internet Movie DataBase |
| IMMOR | I Make My Own Rules |
| IMO | In My Opinion |
| IMHO | In My Humble/Honest Opinion |
| IMNSHO | In My Not So Humble 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 |
| JMO | Just My Opinion |
| JMHO | Just My Humble/Honest 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 |
| LJ | LiveJournal |
| LLAP | Live Long And Prosper |
| LMA | Leave Me Alone |
| LMC | Lost My Connection |
| LMCOA | Lost My Connection Once Again |
| LMK | Let Me Know |
| LMAO | Laughed/Laughing My Ass Off |
| 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 |
| M-W | Merriam-Webster dictionary |
| M8 | Mate |
| M8s | Mates |
| MC M/C |
Master of Ceremonies |
| 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 |
| MtG | Magic: The Gathering |
| MTGO | Magic: The Gathering Online |
| MW | MechWarrior (a game) |
| 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) |
| NFW | No F*cking Way |
| NFS | No F*cking Sh*t! |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| OBTW | Oh, By The Way |
| OD | Overdose |
| OIC | Oh, I See |
| 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 |
| RUMORF | Are You Male or Female? |
| RUOK | Are You Okay |
| RUF2T RYFTT |
Are You Free To Talk |
| <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) |
| SMF | Sick Motherf*cker (coined by fans of band Twisted Sister) |
| 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_FKA | The [something] Formerly Known As |
| T&A | Tits & A$$ (a referance to shallow sexual content) |
| TA | Total Annihilation (a computer game) |
| TANSTAAFL | There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch |
| TBC | To Be Continued |
| TD | Touchdown |
| TDTM | Talk Dirty To Me |
| TI | Texas Instruments (a company that makes calculators and laser-guided bombs) |
| TIA | Thanks In Advance |
| TIC | Tongue In Cheek |
| TAFN | That's All For Now |
| 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 |
| TLA | Three Letter Acronym |
| TLC | Tender Loving Care The Learning Channel |
| TL;DR | Too Long; Didn't Read |
| 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 |
| USMC | United States Marine Corps |
| USN | United States Navy |
| USFL | United States Football League (now defunct) |
| 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) |
| WTB | Want To Buy |
| WTD | Want To Deal |
| WTF |
What 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 |
| YT? | You There? |
| zzz | sleep |