General

1. BID: Break it down

2. COB: Close of business

3. EOD: End of day

4. EOM: End of message OR end of month

5. EOT: End of thread

6. EOW: End of week

7. ETA: Estimated time of arrival

8. FTE: Full-time employee

9. FWIW: For what it’s worth

10. IAM: In a meeting

11. IMO: In my opinion

12. KISS: Keep it simple stupid

13. LET: Leaving early today

14. LMK: Let me know

15. MoM: Month over month

16. MTD: Month to date

17. NIM: No internal message

18. OOO: Out of office

19. OT: Off topic

20. OTP: On the phone

21. PA: Performance appraisal

22. POC: Point of contact

23. PTE: Part-time employee

24. PTO: Paid time off

25. NRN: No reply necessary

26. NSFW: Not safe for work

27. NWR: Not work related

28. Re: Referring to

29. RFD: Request for discussion

30. SMART: Specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, time-bound

31. SME: Subject matter expert

32. TED: Tell me, explain to me, describe to me

33. TL;DR: Too long, didn’t read

34. TLTR: Too long to read

35. TOS: Terms of service

36. TYT: Take your time

37. WFH: Work from home

38. WIIFM: What’s in it for me

39. WOM: Word of mouth

40. YTD: Year to date

Finance
41. ACCT: Account

42. AP: Accounts payable

43. AR: Accounts receivable

44. BS: Balance sheet

45. CPU: Cost per unit

46. CR: Credit

47. DR: Debit

48. EPS: Earnings per share

49. FIFO: First in, first out

50. IPO: Initial public offering

51. LIFO: Last in, first out

52. LWOP: Leave without pay

53. NAV: Net assets value

54. P-card: Purchase card

55. ROA: Return on assets

56. ROE: Return on equity

57. ROI: Return on investment

58. P/E: Price to earnings

59. P&L: Profit and loss

Technical
60. API: Application program interface

61. CPU: Central processing unit

62. CSS: Cascading style sheet

63. FTP: File transport protocol

64. HTML: HyperText markup language

65. HTTP: HyperText transfer protocol

66. HTTPS: HyperText transfer protocol secure

67. IM: Instant messaging

68. IP: Internet protocol

69. ISP: Internet service provider

70. OS: Operating system

71. QA: Quality assurance

72. UI: User interface

73. URL: Universal resource locator

74. UX: User experience

75. VPN: Virtual private network

76. RAM: Random-access memory

77. ROR: Ruby on Rails

78. RSS: Rich site summary OR really simple syndication

79. WYSIWYG: What you see is what you get

 Marketing and Sales
80. AIDA: Attention, interest, desire, action

81. B2B: Business to business

82. B2C: Business to consumer

83. BR: Bounce rate

84. CMS: Content management system

85. CPC: Cost per click

86. CTA: Call to action

87. CTR: Click through rate

88. CR: Conversion rate

89. CRM: Customer relationship management

90. DM: Direct message or direct mail

91. ESP: Email service provider

92. GA: Google Analytics

93. KPI: Key performance indicator

94. PPC: Pay per click

95. PV: Page view

96. RFP: Request for proposal

97. ROS: Run of site

98. RT: Retweet

99. SaaS: Software as a service

100. SEO: Search engine optimization

101. SM: Social media

102. SMB: Small to medium business

103. SWOT: Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats

104. UV: Unique visitor

Job and Department Titles

105. BD: Business development

106. CAO: Chief analytics officer

107. CDO: Chief data officer

108. CEO: Chief executive officer

109. CFO: Chief financial officer

110. CIO: Chief information officer

111. CMO: Chief marketing officer

112. COO: Chief operating officer

113. CPA: Certified public accountant

114. CSO: Chief security officer

115. CSR: Corporate social responsibility

116. CTO: Chief technology officer

117. CFP: Certified financial planner

118. DOE: Depending on experience

119. GC: General counsel

120. HR: Human resources

121. PM: Project manager

122. PR: Public relations

123. R&D: Research and development

Photo of keyboard courtesy of Shutterstock.

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.

Why use acronyms?

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.

When should I use them?

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.

What are some good examples?

1. B2B – Business to Business

2. B2C – Business to Consumer
3. BD – Business Development
4. CEO – Chief Executive Officer
5. CFO – Chief Financial Officer
6. COB – Close Of Business
7. COO – Chief Operating Officer
8. CRM – Customer Relationship Management
9. CSR – Corporate Social Responsibility
10. DM – Direct Mail (can also mean Direct Message)
11. EOD – End Of Day (EO plus another letter is commonly used for End Of Week, End Of Play or End Of Thread for
example)
12. HR – Human Resources
13. IAM – In A Meeting
14. FYI – For Your Information
15. KPI – Key Performance Indicator – a way of measuring something that is crucial to the success of the business
16. MOM – Month Over Month refers to that month’s figures compared with the previous month’s (also QOQ or Quarter
Over Quarter and YOY or Year Over Year)
17. PA – Performance Appraisal, or it can also stand for Personal Assistant
18. PDP – Personal Development Programme
19. P/E – Price to Earnings (refers to the market price per share divided by the actual earnings per share)
20. P&L – Profit and Loss (summarises the revenue, costs and expenses earned and incurred by a business)
21. ROI – Return On Investment (also used for ROA or Return On Assets and ROE or Return On Equity)
22. SMART – Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Time-bound is a guide used for setting an objective that can
be measured
23. SMB – Small to Medium Business (also sometimes called SME or Small to Medium Enterprises)
24. TOS – Terms Of Service
25. YTD – Year To Date