An abbreviation is a shortened form of a word or a phrase (group of words).
The result of abbreviation is a reduced form or abridgement of writing. They are commonly used because they save time and space.
As said by John Horne Tooke, “Abbreviations are the wheels of language, the wings of Mercury.
Examples:
ATM = Automated Teller Machine
BBC = British Broadcasting Corporation
Acronym:
It is a word formed from the initial letters of the several words in the name and pronounced as one word.
Examples:
NASA = National Aeronautics and Space Administration (USA)
AIDS = Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome.
Most Common Abbreviations & Acronyms with the Letter M
M
M / M. / m
Mega- / Miaden Over (Cricket) / Master (in academic degrees) / Member (of) / Money (Economics) / Million(s) / Monsieur (French) = Mister (Mr. – Plural MM) / Motorway (followed by a number e.g.: M3) / Medium / Malta (IVR = International Vehicle Registration) / Molar (Chemistry) / M = 1000 (Roman Numeral) / Meta- or meso- (Chemistry) /
M / m.
Mark(s) (former German currency) / male / masculine / mass / Meridiem (Latin) = noon / metre(s) or meter(s) / mile(s) / milli- / Mille- / million(s) / mobile / married / month(s)
MA
Master of Arts / Massachusetts (US state) / Morocco (IVR)
Magnetic anomaly detection or detector / Mutual assured destruction
MAFF
Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (now replaced by DEFRA = Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
MB
Manitoba (Canadian province) / Megabyte = Mb (Computing) / Mark of the Beast / Medicinae Baccalaureus (Latin) = Bachelor of Medicine / Medal of Bravery
mb / mbar
Millibar
M.B.A./MBA
Master of Business Administration
MBBS
Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery
MBE
Member (of the Order of) the British Empire (UK)
MBO
Management buyout
MBSc
Master of Business Science
MBT
Main Battle Tank
mbyte
Megabyte(s)
MC
Member of Congress / Member of Council / Military Cross (UK) / Master of ceremonies / Monaco (IVR) / Music cassette / Medium Coeli (Latin) = midheaven (astrology)
Mc
Megacycles (unit of frequency)
MCA
Medicines Control Agency / Monetary compensatory amounts
MCB
Miniature circuit breaker
MCC
Marylebone Cricket Club
mcg
Microgram (not in official use)
MCh/M.Chir.
Magister Chirurgiae (Latin) = Master of Surgery
MCI
Mild cognitive impairment ( rather a precursor of dementia)
mCi
Millicurie(s) (radioactive quantity)
MCIJ
Member of the Chartered Institute of Journalists
M.Com.
Master of Commerce
MCP
Male chauvinist pig (informal)
MCPS
Mechanical-Copyright Protection Society
MCR
Middle Common (or Combination) Room (UK)
Mc/s
Megacycles per second
MD
Managing Director / Maryland (US state = Md.) / Mentally deficient/ Moldova (IVR = International Vehicle Registration) / Medicinae Doctor (Latin) = Doctor of Medicine
Md
Mendelevium (Chemical Element)
MDC
Movement for Democratic Change
MDF
Medium density lifeboat
MDI
Multiple document interface (Computing)
Mdle / Mlle
Mademoiselle (French) = Miss
Mdm.
Madame
MDMA
Methylene-dioxymethamphetamine (a stimulant drug)
mdr-TB
Multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis
MDS
Master of Dental Surgery
MDSc
Master of Dental Science
ME
Middle East / Maine (US state = Me.) / Middle English / Methodist Episcopal / Mining or Mechanical Engineer / Most Excellent / Myalgic encephalomyelitis (or encephalopathy)
Me
Maître
MEcon
Master of Economics
med.
Medical / medicine / medieval / medium / Medius or media or medium (Latin) = middle
MEd
Master of Education
meg
Megabyte(s) (Computing slang)
MF
Machine-finished / Middle French / Medium frequency / Multi-frequency
mf
Mezzo-forte
MFA
Multi-Fiber Arrangement
mfd
Manufactured
MFH
Master of Foxhounds
mfrs
Manufacturers
MFS
Marfan Syndrome
mft
Mistura (Mixtura) fiat (Latin) = let a mixture be made
mfv
Motor fleet vehicle
mg
Milligram(s)
MG
Machine-gun / Morris Garages
Mg
Magnesium (Chemistry)
MGB
Ministerstvo Gosudarstvennoi Bezompasnosti (Russian) =Ministry of State Security
MGL
Mongolia (IVR = International Vehicle Registration)
MGM
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (film company formed in 1924)
Mgr
Manager / Monseigneur (French) / Monsignor
MH
Medal of Honor
MHA
Member of the House of Assembly
MHC
Major histocompatibility complex (of immunity proteins) (Biochemistry)
MHD
Magnetic hydrodynamic / Magnetohydrodynamic(s)
MHG
Middle High German
MHR
Member of the House of Representatives (US & Australia)
MHRA
Modern Humanities Research Association
MHz
Megahertz
MI
Michigan (US state) / Military Intelligence
mi.
Mile(s)
MIA
Missing in action
mic.
Mica
Mic.
(the book of) Micah (a Hebrew minor prophet – Old Testament)
Mich.
Michigan (US state) / Michaelmas
MICR
Magnetic ink character recognition
MIDAS
(acronym) Missile Defence Alarm Systems (from 1958 to 1966)
MIDI
Musical Instrument Digital Interface (communication protocol)
MiG / mig
Mikoyan and Gurevich (Russian aircraft (designers))
MIGA
Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency
mil / milit
Military
MIME
Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (internet email transmission)
MIN
Mobile Identification Number / Multi-digit Identification Number
min.
Minimum / Minute(s)
Min.
Minister / Ministry
MIPS / mips
(abbreviation & acronym) Millions of instructions per second (Computing)
MIR
Mortgage interest relief
MIRAS
Mortgage interest relief at source (up to 2000, now abolished) (UK)