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41. ACCT: Account
Technical
60. API: Application program interface
Updated 7/14/2022
What’s an acronym?
It’s an abbreviation – shorthand – for a series of words that uses the first letter of each to make a new, shorter word.
NATO or North Atlantic Treaty Organisation is a good example. Some acronyms are used so commonly that they’ve
‘become’ words – like Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation or laser. Some acronyms can’t be said as
actual words – like BBC or British Broadcasting Corporation – and should rightly be called initialisms, but lots of people
call them acronyms as well.
Sometimes to save time. The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership is a bit of a mouthful and much easier to
refer to by its acronym, TTIP. Sometimes it’s to save space on packaging or it could be used to make a technical term
more palatable to use in everyday life.
Best to take your lead from those around you. Sentences with too many acronyms become unintelligible, so steer clear
of over-use; at the same time, many businesses have evolved a specialised vocabulary that helps to speed up
communication, so you’ll need to know some of the basics.