Initialism

An initialism is another type of abbreviation similar to an acronym—but not exactly the same. Initialisms also use the first letter of each word in the phrase, but instead of combining the letters to form a new word, like with “NASA,” you pronounce each letter individually. Here are some examples:

• VIP, which stands for “very important person”
• DVD, which stands for “digital versatile disc”
• ATM, which stands for “automatic teller machine”
• AM and PM, which stand for “ante meridiem” and “post meridiem”
• RSVP, which stands for “répondez s’il vous plait“

An acronym is a type of abbreviation that shortens a phrase by combining the first letter (or letters) of each word in the phrase to form a new pronounceable word. Here are some acronym examples:

• NASA, which stands for National Aeronautical and Space A...