Abbreviations, Acronyms, and Initialisms

Abbreviations are shortened forms of words. 
Ex: Mister = Mr. 
Ex: Mistress = Mrs. 
Ex: Avenue = Ave.
Ex: Apartment = Apt. 

Acronyms are a kind of abbreviation. They are usually formed with the first letters, or the first parts of several words, and form a new word. 
Ex: NASA = National Aeronautics and Space Administration (my favorite)
Ex: JPEG = Joint Photographic Endpoints Group 
Ex: scuba = self-contained underwater breathing apparatus 
Ex: radar = radio detection and ranging 

Initialisms are abbreviations where each letter is said separately. 
Ex: USA = United States of America
Ex: FBI = Federal Bureau of Investigation
Ex: BBC = British Broadcasting Corporation
Ex: BYOB = Bring Your Own Beer

There are lots of abbreviations in English so be sure to look them up if you aren’t sure of the spelling or pronunciation. I mentioned earlier that NASA is my favorite acronym, so it only seams fair to share my least favorite abbreviation: asgmt. It means “assignment” and I ALWAYS have to look it up. 

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