Abbreviations & Acronyms
Abbreviation:
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 letter ‘R’
R
| T / T. | Tenor (Music) / Tempo (Music) / Tasto (Music) / Tutti (Music) / Time (Physics) / Tesla (Physics) / Tera- (prefix) / Transformational (Linguistics) / Symbol for Surface tension / Tritium (Physics & Chemistry) / Tesla (SI unit) / Thailand (IVR = International Vehicle Registration) / 160 (medieval Roman numeral) / Taxed (official stamp) / Thunder (in logbooks of ships) / Thymine (in DNA sequences) (Biology) / Transmission (Photography) / trichlorophenoxyacetic acid |
| T– | 160000 (medieval Roman numeral) |
| t / t. | Tare / Temperature / Tense / Ton(s) / Transitive / Troy (weight) / Time / Top or Truth (Physics) |
| t/a | Trading as |
| ta | Thank you (colloquial) |
| TA | Territorial Army / Teaching Assistant or Teaching Assistantship (US) / Transactional Analysis (Psychology) |
| Ta | Tantalum (chemical element) |
| TAB | (abbreviation & acronym) Typhoid-paratyphoid A and B (vaccine) Totalizator Agency Board (Australia & NZ) |
| TACAN | (acronym) Tactical air navigation (high-frequency navigational system for aircrafts) |
| TAFE | Technical and Further Education (an institution offering technical and vocational courses) |
| TAI | Temps Atomique Internationale (French) = International Atomic Time |
| TB | Terabyte(s) (also Tb) / Torpedo boat / Tubercle bacillus / Tuberculosis / Treasury Bill / |
| Tb | Terbium (chemical element) / Terabyte(s) |
| TBA / tba | To be announced (or advised or arranged) |
| TBC / tbc | To be confirmed |
| tbsp/tbs./tbsp. | Tablespoon / Tablespoonful (plural – tbsps) |
| TBD | Torpedo boat destroyer |
| TBS | Talk between ships (a shot-wave radio between ships) / Tight building syndrome (also Sick building syndrome SBS) |
| TBT | Tributyl tin (or Tributyltin) |
| Tc | Technetium (chemical element) |
| TCA | Trichloroacetic acid (a herbicide) / Tricarboxylic acid |
| TCAS | Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System (a warning to avoid potential midair collisions) |
| TCD | Trinity College, Dublin |
| TCDD | Tetrachlorodibenzo(para)dioxin / Tetrachlorodibenzoparadioxin |
| TCH | Tchad = Chad (IVR = International Vehicle Registration) |
| TCM | Traditional Chinese medicine / Trinity College of Music, London |
| TCP | Transmission (or Transport) Control Protocol (computing) / Trichlorophenylmethyliodosalicyl (a proprietary germicide) / Time (reversal), charge (conjugation), and parity (conservation) / Tricresyl phosphate |
| TCP/IP | Transmission (or Transport) Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (a standard for the connection of computers to the internet |
| TD | Technical drawing / Territorial (officer’s) Decoration (in the Territorial Army) / Touchdown (US football) / Teachta Dala (Irish) = Deputy to the Dail (a member of Dail Eireann, the lower house of the Irish parliament) |
| TDD | Telecommunication Device for the Deaf |
| TDE | 2-dichlorethane (an organochlorine insecticide formerly used on fruit and vegetables) |
| TDMA | Time Division Multiple Access (mobile digital transmission system) |
| t.d.s. | Ter die sumendus (Latin) = to be taken three times a day |
| Te | Tellurium (chemical element) |
| TEC / Tec | Training and Enterprise Council (now replaced by LSC = Learning and Skills Council) / a detective (informal) |
| tech / tech. | Technical / Technology |
| techMARK® | A Stock Exchange market featuring new technology companies |
| Ted | A Teddy boy (Britain) (informal) |
| TED spread | A measure of the difference between the value of 3-month US Treasury bills and 3-month Eurodollar futures contracts |
| TEFL | Teaching English as a Foreign Language |
| Teflon® | A trademark for polytetrafluoroethylene |
| Tel. / tel. | Telegraph / Telegraphic / Telephone (number) |
| telco | Telecommunications company (US) |
| tele / telly | Television (informal) |
| teletypesetter® | An obsolete telegraphic machine |
| telex | Teleprinter + Exchange |
| telnet | Tele- + network |
| TEM | Transmission electron microscope |
| temp. | Temperature / Temporal / Temporary / Tempore (Latin) = in the time of |
| TENS | Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (pain relief system) |
| Ter. / Terr. | Terrace (in street names) / Territory |
| TES | Times Educational Supplement |
| TESL | (abbreviation & acronym) Teaching (of) English as a Second Language |
| TESOL | (abbreviation & acronym) Teaching (of) English to Speakers of Other Languages |
| TESSA | (acronym) Tax-Exempt Special Savings Account |
| Test. | Testament |
| TETRA | Terrestrial Trunked Radio (a European standard used by the emergency services for mobile communications) |
| Teut. | Teutonic |
| TeV | Tera-electron volt(s) |
| TEWT | Tactical exercise without troops (military) (slang) |
| Tex. | Texas |
| Tex | Texan |
| tex | Textile |
| TFT | Thin film transistor (technology used for flat color display screens) |
| TFT screen | A thin film transistor screen, giving good display used in laptops |
| TG | Transformational grammar / Togo (IVR = International Vehicle Registration) |
| TGIF | Thank God (or goodness) it’s Friday (informal) |
| T-group | Training group (Psychology) |
| TGV | Train a Grande Vitesse (French) = a type of high-speed French electric passenger train |
| TGWU | Transport and General Workers’ Union (UK) (historical) |
| Th | Thorium (chemical element) |
| Th. | Thursday |
| THC | Tetrahydrocannabinol (the active principle of cannabis) |
| ThD | Theologiae Doctor (New Latin) = Doctor of Theology |
| THD | Total harmonic distortion |
| Ti | Tumor-inducing / Titanium (chemical element) |
| TIA | Transient ischemic attack (Medicine) |
| tid / t.i.d. | ter in die (Latin) = three times a day |
| TIFF | Tagged image file format (an image file format widely used in desktop publishing) |
| TIG | Tungsten inert gas (gas welding) |
| TIM | Traditional Indian Medicine (Ayurveda) / Time (former Dialing code) |
| Tim. | Timothy (New Testament) |
| TKO | Technical knockout |
| Tl | Thallium (chemical element) |
| TLA | Three-letter acronym (computing) |
| TLC | Tender loving care (facetious) (colloquial) / Thin-layer chromatography (Chemistry) / Trades and Labour Council (Australia) |
| TLR | Twin-lens reflex (camera) |
| TLS | Times Literary Supplement |
| T lymphocyte | Thymus (gland) lymphocyte (also called T cell) (Physiology) |
| TM | Transcendental meditation (US) / Trademark / Trench mortar / Turkmenistan (IVR = International Vehicle Registration) |
| Tm | Thulium (chemical element) |
| TMI | Too much information (informal) (an expression of boredom or disgust) |
| TMS | Transcranial magnetic stimulation (neurological technique) |
| TMT | Technology, media and telecom (or telecommunications) (company) |
| tn | Ton(s) (US) / Town |
| TN | Tennessee (US state) / Tradename / Tunisia (IVR = International Vehicle Registration) |
| TNC | Transnational company |
| TNT | Trinitrotoluene or Trinitrotoluol (a high explosive) |
| TO | Tax Officer / Transport Officer / Telegraph Office / Turn over [also PTO = Please turn over (the page)] |
| T.O. | Toronto, Ontario (informal name for Toronto) |
| Tob. | (the Apocryphal Book of) Tobit (Bible) |
| TOC | Train operating company (UK) |
| TOE | Theory of everything (Physics) |
| tom. | Tomus (Latin) = tome or volume |
| tp | Township / Troop |
| TPA / t-pa | Tissue plasminogen activator |
| TPI | Tax and prices index |
| T-plate | T-shaped plate |
| TPN | Total parenteral nutrition |
| TPR | Temperature, pulse, and respiration |
| Tpr | Trooper |
| tpr | Teleprinter |
| TQM | Total quality management |
| TR | Turkey (IVR = International Vehicle Registration) / Transmit-receive |
| tr. | Transactions / Transitive / Translator / Transpose / Trustee |
| TS | Tough shit / tough situation / tough stuff (US) (military slang) / Typescript |
| TSB | Trustee Savings Bank |
| TSE | Transmissible spongiform encephalopathy / Toronto Stock Exchange |
| TSH | Thyroid-stimulating hormone (Biochemistry) / Their Serene Highness |
| TSO | Town sub-office |
| TSP | Trisodium phosphate |
| tsp. / tsp | Teaspoonful (tsps – plural) |
| TSR | Terminate and Stay Resident (computing) (a memory program) |
| TSS | Toxic shock syndrome |
| TSX | Toronto Stock Exchange |
| TT | Teetotal / Teetotaller / Tourist Trophy / Tuberculin tested / Trinidad and Tobago (IVR = International Vehicle Registration) |
| TTE | Train Ticket Examiner |
| TTF | Tetrathiafulvalene (a Sulphur-containing organic compound) |
| TTFN | Ta-ta for now (informal) |
| TTL | Through the lens (metering) (photography) / Transistor-transistor logic (electronics) |
| TTP | Trusted third party |
| TTS | Text-to-speech |
| TU | Trade union |
| Tu./Tue./Tues. | Tuesday |
| TUC | Trades Union Congress |
| TV | Television / Transvestite (informal) (US) |
| TVA | Tennessee Valley Authority / Taxe a la valeur ajoutee (French) = value added tax (VAT) |
| TVEI | Technical and Vocational Educational Initiative (UK) |
| TVP | Textured vegetable protein (proprietary name) |
| TWA | Trans World Airlines |
| Twp. | Township |
| TX | Texas (US state) |
| tx / thx | Thanks (informal) / thank you |
