English Common Abbreviations / Common Abbreviations Details/ A-Z category Abbreviations / All types of Abbreviations

Common Abbreviations

A.A - Automobile Association; anti aircraft

A.A.F - Auxiliary Air Force

A.B. - Able-Bodied (in army enlistment)

Abbr., - Abbreviation

A.B.C. - Atomic Biological and Chemical Warfare

A.C. - Alternating Current; Air Conditioned

a/c., Acct. - Account

A.C.A. - Associate of the Institute of Chartered Accountants

A.C.C. - Auxiliary Cadet Corps

acctt. - Accountant

ad. - Advertisement (s)

A.D. - Anno Domino (in the year of our Lord)

A.D.C - Aide-de-camp

ad. Fin. - Ad finem ( at or toward the end)

ad. Init. - Ad initium (at he beginning)

Adjt. - Adjutant

ad.lib. - At pleasure

ad.lac - At the place

ad.val - Ad valorem (according o or in proportion to the value)

A.G. - Accountant General; Adjutant General

A.H. - Anno Hegirae (in the year of Hegira)

A.H.Q. - Air Headquarters or Army Headquarters

A.I.A. - Associate of the Institute of Actuaries

A.I.C.C. - All India Congress Committee

A.I.I. - Air India International

A.I.R. - All India Radio

A.I.R.F. - All India Railwaymen’s Federation

A.I.S.A. - All India Spinners Association

a.m. - ante meridiem (before noon)

A.M.I.C.E. - Associate Member of Institute of Civil Engineers

A.M.I.E.E. - Associate Member of Institute of Electrical Engineers

ANZUS - Australia, New Zealand and the United States

A.O.C. - Air Officer Commanding

A.O.D. - Arm Ordnance Depot.

A.P. - Associated Press; Andhra Pradesh

A.P.I. - Associated Press of India

A.R.P. - Air Raid Precaution

A.S. - Anglo Saxon

A.T.C. - Army Training Corps.

A.T.S. - Anti Tetanus Serum

b. - born; bowled (in cricket); bye (in games)

B. - Black (this is o indicate the degree of blackness in pencils, indicated by

the number of B’s)

B.A. - Bachelor of Arts

B.B.C. - British Broadcasting Corporation

B.C. - Before Christ

B.C.G. - Bacillus Calmete Guerin (a vaccine)

B.C.L. - Bachelor of Civil Law

B.G.L. - Bachelor of General Law

B.Com., - Bachelor of Commerce

B.D. - Bachelor of Divinity

B.D.S. - Bachelor of Dental Surgery

B.E., - Bachelor of Engineering

B.Ed. - Bachelor of Education

b.f. - Brought forward

b.h.p. - Back horse power

B.I.F. - British Industries Fair

B.O.L. - Bachelor of Law

B.Lit. - Bachelor of Literature

B.M. - Bachelor of Medicine

B.Mus. - Bachelor of Music

B.O.A.C. - British Overseas Airways Corporation

bot. - Botany; bought

B.O.T. - Board of Trade

b.p. - Bills payable; birth place; bills of parcels

b.pt. - Boiling point

Brig. - Brigadier

B.S.A. - Birmingham Small Arms Company

B.Sc. - Bachelor of Science

B.V.Sc. - Bachelor of Veterinary Science

c. - Catch (in cricket); cent (in coinage)

C. - Centigrade; Centum

c.c. - Cubic centimetre

C.A. - Chartered Accountant

Cantab. - (of) Cambridge

Caps. - Capital Letters

C.A.R.E. - Cooperative for American Relief Everywhere

C.B.I. - Central Bureau of Investigation

C.C.I. - Cricket Club of India

c.d. - Cumulative dividend (in market quotations)

C.D. - Cumulative Deposit

C.D.C. - Commonwealth Development Corporation

C.D.F.C. - Commonwealth Development Finance Company

C.D.P. - Community Development

C.E. - Civil Engineer

C.E.C. - Chief Election Commissioner

C.E.E.C. - Committee for European Economic Cooperation

cf. - Compare (confer)

C.G.S. - Centimetre Gram Second (System)

C.I.A. - Criminal Investigation Agency

C.I.D. - Criminal Investigation Department

C.I.E. - Companion of the Order of the Indian Empire

C.I.F. - Cost, Insurance and Freight

C-in-C - Commander-in-Chief

C.J. - Chief Justice

cm. - Centimetre

C.M. - Chief Minister

C.N.D. - Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament

Co. - Company

C.O. - Commanding Officer

c.o. - Carried over

c/o. - Care of

C.O.D. - Cash on delivery; Concise Oxford Dictionary

Col. - Colonel

Co-ops - Cooperative Societies

CORE - (U.S.) Congress of Racial Equality

cos. - Cosine

C.P.I. - Communist Party of India

C.P.I.(M) - Communist Party of India (Marxist)

Cr. - Credit; Creditor; crore (s)

C.R.O. - Commonwealth Relations Office

C.O.S.I. - Companion of the Order of the Star of India

C.S.I.R. - Council of Scientific and Industrial Research

ct. - Carat

cum. - Cumulative (in deposits and shares)

cum.div. - Cumulative dividend

C.W.C. - Central Warehousing Corporation; Congress Working Committee;

Central Water Commission

C.W.O. - Cash With Order

cwt. - (Cent) hundred weight

d. - Dime (penny); delete; dated

D.A. - Dearness Allowance; Daily Allowance

Dak. - Dakota

D.C. - da capo (repeat from the beginning)

D.C.E. - Directorate of Collegiate Education

D.C.L. - Doctor of Civil Laws

D/D - Demand Draft

D.D. - Doctor of Divinity

Dept. - Department

D.F.C. - Distinguished Flying Cross

D.Litt. - Doctor of Literature / Letters

D.L.O. - Dead Letter Office

D.M. - Deutsche Mark

D.Mus. - Doctor of Music

D.S.E. - Director of School Education

doz. - Dozen

D.P. - Displaced Person

D.P.H. - Director of Public Health; Diploma in Public Health

D.Phil. - Doctor of Philosophy

D.P.I. - Director of Physical Instruction

D.Sc., - Doctor of Science

D.S.M. - Distinguished Service Medals

D.S.O. - Distinguished Service Order

D.V. - Dev volente (God Willing)

D.V.C. - Damodar Valley Corporation

dwt. - Dead weight (Maximum haulage of a ship)

E.B. - Electricity Board

Ed. - Editor, edition

e.g. - Example gratia (for exmple)

E.C.A.F.E. - Economic Commission for Asia and Far East

E.C.M. - European Common Market

E.&O.E. - Errors and omission excepted

E.P.T. - Excess Profit Tax

E.R.P. - European Recovery Programme

Esq. - Esquire

etc. - Et cetera (and so on; and others)

et. seq. - And the following

Exam. - Examination

Ex.div. - Without dividend

Ex.Officio - By virtue of one’s office

F., Fahr. - Fahrenheit

f.a.a. - Free of all average

F.A.O. - Food and Agriculture Organisation

f.a.s. - free alongside ship

F.B.I. - Federal Bureau of Investigation

F.C.A. - Fellow of he Institute of Chartered Accountants

F.C.W.A. - Fellow of the Institute of Cost and Works Accountants

f.g.a. - Free of General Average

F.H. - Fire Hydrant

F.I.C.C.I. - Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry

F.I.A. - Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries

fi.fa. - fiere facias (see it is done)

FIFA - Federation of International Football Association

fig. - Figure

F.M. - Field Marshal

f.pt. - Freezing point

F.R.A.S. - Fellow of he Royal Asiatic Society

F.R.C.S. - Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons

F.R.G.S. - Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society

F.R.I.B.A. - Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects

F.R.I.C.S. - Fellow of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surgeons

F.R.C.V.S. - Fellow of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons

F.R.S. - Fellow of the Royal Society

ft. - Foot, feet

G.A.T.T. - General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade

gal. - Gallon

G.B. - Great British

G.B.S. - George Bernard Shaw

G.C.S.I. - Grand Commander (of the Order) of the Star of India

G.C.M. - Greatest Common Measure

G.C.V.O. - Grand Cross of the Victorian Order

G.D.R. - German Democratic Republic

G.H.Q. - General Headquarters

G.M.T. - Greenwich Mean Time

G.O. - Government Order

G.O.C. - General Officer Commanding

G.O.M. - Grand Old Man

G.P.O. - General Post Office

G.R.I. - Georgius Rex (Emperor)

H.C.F. - Highest Common Factor

H.E. - His/Her Excellency or Eminence

H.H. - His/Her Highness

H.M. - His/Her Majesty

H.P. - Horse Power

Hon. - Honourable, Honorary

H.R.H. - His (Her) Royal Highness

ht. - Height

h.t. - High tension

H.T.L. - High Tank Level

h.w. - Hit Wicket

H.W.M. - High Water Mark

I.A. & A.S. - Indian Accounts and Audit Service

I.A.M.C. - Indian Army Medical Corps.

I.A.C. - Indian Airlines Corporation

I.A.E.A. - International Atomic Energy Agency

I.A.F. - Indian Air Force

I.A.O.C. - Indian Army Ordnance Corps.

I.A.S. - Indian Administrative Service

I.A.T.A. - International Air Transport Agency

ibid - ibidem (ui the same place)

I.B.R.D. - International Bank of Reconstruction and Development

i.c - In Charge

I.C.A.O. - International Civil Aviation Organisation

I.C.B.M. - Inter Continental Ballistic Missile

I.C.A.R. - Indian Council of Agriculture Research

I.C.H.R. - Indian Council of Historical Research

I.C.I. - Imperial Chemical Industries

ICICI - Industrial Credit Investment Corporation of India

I.C.M.R. - Indian Council of Medical Research

I.C.S. - Indian Civil Service

I.C.S.C. - International Control Supervisory Commission

I.C.W.A. - Institute of Cost and works Accounts; Indian Council of World Affairs

IDBI - Industrial Development Bank of India

i.e. - id est (that is)

I.E.N.S. - Indian and Eastern News Paper Society

I.F.C. - Industrial Financial Corporation

I.F.W.J. - Indian Federation of Working Journalists

I.F.T.U. - International Federation of Trade Unions

I.G.N.O.U. - Indira Gandhi National Open University

I.G.Y. - International Geophysical Year

I.I.S. - Indian Institute of Science

I.I.T. - Indian Institute of Technology

I.L.O. - International Labour Organisation

I.L.P. - International Labour Party

I.M.F. - International Monetary Fund

in. - Inch (s)

inc. - Incorporated

I.N.A. - Indian National Army

incog. - Incognito (under disguise)

I.N.S. - Indian Naval Ship

I.N.S.A. - Indian National Science Academy

inst. - Instant

I.N.R.W.F. - Indian National Railway Workers Federation

I.N.T.U.C. - Indian National Trade Union Congress

I.O.U. - I Owe you

I.P.S. - Indian Police Service

I.Q. - Intelligence Quotient

I.R.O. - International Refugee Organization

I.R.B.M. - Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile

I.S.I. - Indian Standards Institute

I.S.O. - Indian Standards Organisation

I.S.T. - Indian Standard Time

ital. - italics

I.T.I. - Indian Telephones Industry; Indian Technical Institute

I.T.O. - International Trade Organisation

I.T.U. - International Telecommunication Union

I.T.U.C. - Indian Trade Union Congress

Jn. - Junction

J.P. - Justice of Peace

Jr. - Junior

Kc. - Kilocycles

K.G. - Knight of he Garter

kl. - Kilolitre

km. - Kilometre

K.M.T. - Kuo-Min-Tang (Chinese Nationalist Party)

Kt. - Knight

Kv. - Kilovolt

Kw. - Kilowatt

Kwh. - Kilowatt hours

Lb. - Pound(s)

L.B.W. - Leg before wicket

L.C.M. - Least Common Multiple

L.I.C. - Life Insurance Corporation

Lieut. - Lieutenant

L.I.M. - Licentiate in Indigenous Medicine

L.K.G. - Lower Kinter Garden

L.LB. - Bachelor of Laws

L.LD. - Doctor of Laws; Legum Doctor

L.R.C.P. - Licentiate of the Royal College of Physicians

L.R.C.S. - Licentiate of the Royal College of Surgeons

Lt.Col. - Lieutenant Colonel

Lt.Com. - Lieutenant Commander

Ltd. - Limited

Lt.Gen. - Lieutenant General

Lt.Gov. - Lieutenant Governor

M.A. - Master of Arts

Maj.Gen. - Major General

maths. - Mathematics

M.B. - Bachelor of Medicines

M.B.B.S. - Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery

M.C. - Military Cross

M.D. - Doctor of Medicines

memo. - Memorandum

Messrs. - Monsieoures (Sirs, Gentlemen)

M.P. - Member of Parliament

M.p.g. - Miles per gallon

M.p.h. - Miles per hour

M.L.A. - Member of Legislative Assembly

M.L.C. - Member of Legislative Council

Mr. - Mister; Master

M.R.C.S. - Member of the Royal College of Surgeons

M.R.C.V.S. - Member of he Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons

ms(s) - Manuscript(s)

MS. - Master of Surgery

Mt(s) - Mountain(s)

M.T.B. - Motor Torpedo Boat

M.V.C. - Maha Vir Chakra

NAFENA - Near and Far East News Agency

N.A.T.O. - North Atlantic Treaty Organisation

N.B. - Nota Bene (Note well)

N.C.C. - National Cadet Corps

N.C.O. - Non Commissioned Officer

N.D.F. - National Defence Fund

N.E.F.A. - North East Frontier Agency

N.G.O. - Non Gazetted Officer; Non Governmental Organisatior

NOMAD - Navy Oceanographic Meteorological Automatic Device

O.C. - Office Copy; Officer Commanding

O.G.L. - Open General Licence

O.H.M.S. - On His (Her) Majesty’s Service

O.I.G.S. - On Indian Government Service

O.K. - Oll Korrect (All Correct)

O.M. - Order of Merit

O.T.A. - Officer’s Training Academy

Oxon. - (of) Oxford

Oz. - Ounce

p.c. - Per Cent; Post Card

P.E.N. - (International Club of) Poets, Essayists and Novelist

P.G. - Post Graduate; Paying Guest

Ph.D. - Doctor of Philosophy

P.M. - Prime Minister

p.m. - post meridian (after noon)

P.M.G. - Postmaster General

P.O. - Post Office

P.O.W. - Prisoner of War

P.R.O. - Public Relations Officer

P.S. - Post Script

P.T.I. - Press Trust of Indian

P.T.O. - Please Turn Over

P.W.D. - Public Works Department

Q.E.D. - Quiod erat demonstratum (which is to be shown or proved)

Q.E.F. - Quiod erat faciedum (which was to be done)

R.A. - Royal Academy; Rear Admiral

R.A.F. - Royal Air Force

R.B.I. - Reserve Bank of India

ref. - Reference

Rev - Reverend

R.I.P. - Requiescat in peace (may he or she rest in peace)

R.L.O. - Returned Letter Office

R.M.S. - Railway Mail Service

R.N. - Royal Navy

R.S.S. - Rshriya Swayam Sewak Sangh

R.S.V.P. - Respondez sil vous plait (Please reply to the invitation)

R.T.O. - Regional Transport Office

SEATO - South East Asia Treaty Organisation

SHAPE - Supreme Headquarters of Allied Powers in Europe

S.I. - Star of India; Sub Inspector

S.J. - Society of Jesus

S.J.A.A. - S.John’s Ambulance Association

S.O.S. - Save our Souls (Distress signal)

S.S.B. - Service Selection Board

S.P.C.A. - Society of Prevention of Cruelty of Animals

S.P.G. - Special Protection Group

sp.gr. - Specific Gravity

S.S.L.C. - Secondary School Leaving Certificate

St. - Saint; Street

SUNFED - Special United Nations Fund for Economic Development

syn. - Synonym

T.A. - Traveling Allowance

T.B. - Tubercle Bacillus

TISCO - Tata Iron and Steel Company

T.N.T. - Tri Nitro Toulune (an explosive)

Tr.,Trans. - Transpose

T.C. - Transfer Certificate; Ticket Collector, Travel Concession

Three. D. - Three Diamentional

T.U.C. - Trade Union Congress

T.V. - Television

T.W.A. - Trans World Airways

U.A.W. - United Arab Emirates

U.K.G. - Upper Kinter Garden

UNAEC - United Nations Atomic Energy Commission

UNCAFE - United Nations Commission for Asia and Far East

UNESCO - United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation

UNICEF - United National International Children’s Emergency Fund

UNHARC - United Nations Human Rights Commission

U.N.O. - United Nations Organisation

U.P.S.C. - Union Public Service Commission

U.S.A. - United State of America

U.S.I.S. - United States Information Service

V.C. - Vicoria Cross; Vice Chancel

V.I.P. - Very Important Person

V.O. - Village Officer; Vigilance Officer

V.P.P. - Value Payable by Post

Vr.C. - Vir Chakra

V.T.O.L. - Vertical Take off and Landing

W.H.O. - World Health Organisation

W.W.F. - World Wrestlers Federation; World Wildlife Fund

X-mas - Christmas

X-ian - Christian

Y.M.C.A. - Young Men’s Christian Association

Y.M.I.A. - Young Men’s Indian Association

Y.W.C.A. - Young Women’s Christian Association

Z.E.T.A. - Zero Energy Thermo Nuclear Assembly