Civilisation/Acronyms
A&P – Advertising and Promotion
A&R – Artists and Repertoire
AAIB – Air Accidents Investigation Branch
ABI – Association of British Insurers
ABS – Anti-lock braking system
ACARS – Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System
ACORN – A Classification of Residential Neighbourhoods
ACPO – Association of Chief Police Officers
ADHD – Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
ADSL – Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line
ADSR – Attack-Decay-Sustain-Release, a term referring to the amplitude envelope used in some synthesizers
AEG – Advanced Engineering from Germany
AER – Annual Equivalent Rate
AFF – Advanced Fee Frauds (419 scams)
AGV – Automotrice a grande vitesse
AIFA – Association of Independent Financial Advisors
AIM – Air Interceptor Missile
AK47 – Automatic Kalashnikov, designed in 1947
ANC – African National Congress
ANPR – Automatic Number Plate Recognition
AOC – Appellation d’origine controlee
APEC – Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation
AQAP – Al-Qa’eda in the Arabian Peninsula
ASDIC – Antisubmarine Detection Investigation Committee
ASIMO – Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility. Humanoid robot created by Honda
ASP – Active Server Pages
ATOC – Association of Train Operating Companies
ATOL – Air Travel Organisers’ Licensing scheme
ATM – Automated Teller Machine
ATS – Auxiliary Territorial Service
AUC – Ab urbe condita, refers to the founding of Rome in 753 BC
AV – Alternative Vote
B&Q – Block and Quayle
BADA – British Antique Dealers Association
BASE – Building, Antenna, Span, Earth
BBA – British Bankers Association
BBFC – British Board of Film Classification, originally British Board of Film Censors
BBPA – British Beer and Pub Association
BECTU – Broadcasting, Entertainment, Cinematograph and Theatre Union
BIOT – British Indian Ocean Territory
BMI – Body Mass Index
BOAC – British Overseas Airways Corporation
BOBFOC – Body Off Baywatch, Face Off Crimewatch
BRC – British Retail Consortium
BRIC Alliance – Brazil, Russia, India and China
CABE – Commission for Architecture in the Built Environment
CAN – Christian Advertising Network
CAPTCHA – Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart
CAT – Computed Axial Tomography
CATV – Community Antenna Television (Cable TV)
CBT – Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
CC – Cubic Centimetres
CCCS – Consumer Credit Counseling Service
CCD – Colony Collapse Disorder
CCJ – County Court Judgment
CCS – Carbon Capture and Storage
ccTLD – Country Code Top-Level domain
CDC – Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
CDO – Collateralized Debt Obligation
CDS – Credit Default Swaps
CE – Common Era. Non-religious substitute for AD
CERN – Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire (European Council for Nuclear Research)
CFA – Communaute Financiee Africaine
CFD – Contract for Difference
CFE – Conventional Forces in Europe
CFL – Compact Fluorescent Lamp (or Light)
CFP – Common Fisheries Policy
CFS – Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
CGA – Colour Graphics Adapter
CGI – Computer-generated imagery
CGC – Conspicuous Gallantry Cross
CGS – Centimetre, Gram, Second
CIA – Central Intelligence Agency
CIF – Cost, Insurance and Freight
CMB – Cosmic Microwave Background radiation
CML – Council of Mortgage Lenders
CNN – Cable News Network
COBE – Cosmic Background Explorer
COBRA – Cabinet Office Briefing Room A
COI – Central Office of Information
COMAC – Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China
COMECON – Council for Mutual Economic Assistance
COSHH – Control of Substances Hazardous to Health
CPI – Consumer Prices Index
CPR – Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation
CPRE – Campaign to Protect Rural England (formerly Council for the Preservation of Rural England
CRB – Criminal Records Bureau
CSS – Cascading Style Sheets
CWU – Communications Workers Union
DAB – Digital Audio Broadcasting
DAR – Daughters of the American Revolution
DC – Douglas Commercial
DDA – Disability Discrimination Act
DEA – Drug Enforcement Administration
DFC – Distinguished Flying Cross
DFID – Department for International Development
DFS – Derbyshire Furniture Stores
DHL – Dalsey, Hillblom and Lynn
DLS – Dynamic Label Segment
DMV – Deserted Medieval Village
DNB – Dictionary of National Biography
DORA – Defence of the Realm Act
DRO – Debt Relief Order
DSLR – Digital Single-Lens Reflex
DSN – Deep Space Network
DWP – Department for Work and Pensions
EAD – Elite Athlete with a Disability
EBITDA – Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization
ECB – Eurozone Central Bank
ECJ – European Court of Justice
ECU – European Currency Unit
EDM – Early Day Motion
EEAS – European External Action Service
EFSA – European Food Safety Authority
EFSF – European Financial Stability Facility
EGR – Exhaust Gas Recirculation
EHRC – Equality and Human Rights Commission
EIB – European Investment Bank
EKIA – Enemy Killed In Action
EMI – Electric and Musical Industries Ltd
EMI – Electromagnetic Interference
ENG – Electronic News Gathering
EPBM – Electroplated Britannia Metal
EPC – Energy Performance Certificate (part of a HIP)
EPCOT – Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow
ESA – Employment Support Allowance
ESOP – Employee Share Option Plan
ESPN – Entertainment and Sports Programming Network
ESTA – Electronic System for Travel Authorization
ETF – Exchange Traded Fund
ExCeL – Exhibition Centre London
FACT – Federation against Copyright Theft
FANY – First Aid Nursing Yeomanry
FARC – Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia
FAST – Facial drooping, Arm weakness, Speech difficulties and Time. Stroke detection
FDC – First Day Cover
FIDE – Federation Internationale des Echecs (Chess)
FINA – Federation Internationale de Natation (Swimming)
FITA – Federation Internationale de Tir a l'Arc (Archery)
FIV – Feline Immunodeficiency Virus
FLOP – Floating Point Operations per Second
FOBT – Fixed Odds Betting Terminals
FSC – Forestry Stewardship Council
FSCS – Financial Services Compensation Scheme
FTT – Financial Transactions Tax (Tobin tax)
GAA – Gaelic Athletic Association
GDA – Guideline Daily Amount
GIF – Graphics Interchange Format
GLAAD – Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation
GMO – Genetically Modified Organism
GPA – Grade Point Average
GPS – Global Positioning System
GSR – Galvanic Skin Response
gTLD – Generic top-level domain
HACCP – Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point
HAMC – Hells Angels Motorcycle Club
HBM – His Britannic Majesty
HDI – Human Development Index
HDMI – High Definition Media Interface
HDTV – High Definition Television
HEV – Hybrid Electric Vehicle
HFT – High Frequency Trading
HGH – Human Growth Hormone
HGP – Human Genome Project
HID – High Intensity Discharge
HIP – Home Information Pack
HIPC – Heavily Indebted Poor Country
HOLMES – Home Office Large Major Enquiry System
HPA – Health Protection Agency
HRBLB – Horse Race Betting Levy Board
HSC – Health and Safety Commission
HSR – High Speed Rail
IAEA – International Atomic Energy Agency
IANA – Internet Assigned Numbers Authority
IAS – Immigration Advisory Service
IATA – International Air Transport Association
IBRD – International Bank for Reconstruction and Development
ICANN – Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers
ICBN – International Code of Botanical Nomenclature
ICSTIS – Independent Committee for the Supervision of Standards of the Telephone Information Services
IEA – International Energy Agency
IED – Improvised Explosive Device
IFOCE – International Federation of Competitive Eating
IFS – Institute of Fiscal Studies
IHP – Indicated Horse Power
ILC – International Linear Collider
IMAX – Image MAXimum
IMEI – International Mobile Station Equipment Identity number. Unique number of a mobile phone
IPA – International Phonetic Alphabet
IPCC – Independent Police Complaints Commission
IPCC – Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
IPPR – Institute for Public Policy Research
IPR – Intellectual Property Rights
IRBM – Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile
IRC – Internet Relay Chat
IRDA – International Reborn Doll Artists
IRGC – Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps
IRS – Internal Revenue Service
ISEQ – Irish Stock Exchange Quotation
ISRO – Indian Space Research Organization
ISS – International Space Station
ISSF – International Shooting Sport Federation
ITCZ – Inter-tropical Convergence Zone
ITER – International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor
IUPAC – International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry
IVA – Individual Voluntary Arrangement, for bankruptcy
IWAS – International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports
IWC – International Whaling Commission
IWF – Internet Watch Foundation
JET – Joint European Torus
JKLF – Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front
JPEG – Joint Photographic Experts Group
JSF – Joint Strike Fighter
K&M – Kaolin and Morphine
KIPPERS – Kids In Parents Pockets Eroding Retirement Savings
LAR – Lethal Autonomous Robots
LBO – Leveraged Buyout
LBT – Large Binocular Telescope
LBV – Late Bottled Vintage
LDV – Local Defence Volunteers (Home Guard)
LGBT – Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender
LIBOR – London Interbank Offered Rate
LIDAR – Light Detection and Ranging
LIGO – Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory
LLDC – London Legacy Development Corporation
LME – London Metal Exchange
LNG – Liquid Natural Gas
LSD – Librae, Solidi, Denarii
LTRO – Long Term Refinancing Operation
LTTE – Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
M&A – Mergers and Acquisitions
MADD – Mothers Against Drunk Driving
MDF – Medium Density Fibreboard
MEG – Magnetoencephalography
MERS – Middle East Respiratory Syndrome
MFI – Mullard Furniture Industries
MFN – Most Favoured Nation
MFP – Multi Function Printer
MHK – Member of the House of Keys
MHRA – Medicine and Healthcare Regulatory Authority
MI6 – Military Intelligence 6 (SIS)
MMA – Mixed Martial Arts
MMORPG – Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game
MOOC – Massive Open Online Course
MP3 – Moving Picture 3
MPAA – Motion Picture Association of America
MPEG – Moving Picture Experts Group
MRCA – Most Recent Common Ancestor
MRI – Magnetic Resonance Imaging
MSF – Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders)
MUA – Mail user agent
NAACP – National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People
NAPF – National Association of Pension Funds
NAS – Noise Abatement Society
NASCAR – National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing
NASDAQ – National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations
NATS – Naval Air Transport Service
NCAA – National Collegiate Athletic Association
NCCL – National Council for Civil Liberties
NSCA – National Society for Clean Air
NDPB – Non-Departmental Public Bodies. Replaced quangos
NEC – National Executive Committee (Labour party)
NEO – Near Earth Object
NICAM – Near Instantaneously Companded Audio Multiplex
NICE – National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. Set up as the National Institute for Clinical Excellence
NIE – Newly Industrializing Economy
NIRS – Near Infrared Spectroscopy
NLP – Neuro-linguistic programming
NMR – Nuclear Magnetic Resonance
NOAA – National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
NORAD – North American Aerospace Defence Command
NPC – National Pensioners Convention
NPOV – Neutral Point of View, in Wikipedia
NPT – Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
NRA – National Rifle Association
NSA – National Security Agency
NSAID – Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug
NTSB – National Transportation Safety Board
OA – Olympic Airways
OAS – Organisation of American States
OAU – Organisation of African Unity
OBR – Office for Budget Responsibility
OFCOM – Office of Communications
OFGEM – Office of Gas and Electricity Markets
OFSTED – Office of Standards in Education
OEIC – Open Ended Investment Company
OG – Original Gravity
OIC – Organization of Islamic Conference
OP – Opposite Prompt
OPAS – Office of the Pensions Advisory Service
ORR – Office of Rail Regulation
OSB – Order of Saint Benedict
OSP – Off Street Parking
OSP – Obiit Sine Prole (died without issue)
PADI – Professional Association of Diving Instructors
PAT – Point after Touchdown
PCaW – Public Concern at Work
PCB – PolyChlorinated Biphenyls
PCC – Press Complaints Commission
PCS – Public and Commercial Services union
PCV – Passenger Carrying Vehicle
PDF – Portable Document Format
PDSA – People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals
PEBKAC – Problem Exists Between Keyboard and Chair
PEN – poets/playwrights, essayists/editors and novelists
PET-CT – Positron emission tomography–computed tomography
PETA – People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
PFC – Private First Class, in US Army
PIR – Passive Infra Red
PLC – Programmable Logic Controller
PNG – Portable Network Graphic
POP – Point Of Presence
PPE – Personal Protection Equipment
PSNI – Police Service of Northern Ireland
PSP – Play Station Portable
PTSD – Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
PTWC – Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre
PTWS – Pacific Tsunami Warning System
PVS – Persistent Vegetative State
QAM – Quadrature Amplitude Modulation
QCA – Qualifications and Curriculum Authority
QMV – Qualified Majority Voting
QR – Quick Response code
QVC – Quality, Value, Convenience
RAIB – Rail Accident Investigation Board
RAL – Rutherford Appleton Laboratory
RAVC – Royal Army Veterinary Corps
RCA – Radio Corporation of America
RCM – Royal College of Midwives
RCMP – Royal Canadian Mounted Police
RCN – Royal College of Nursing
RFID – Radio-frequency identification
RHT – Reinforced Heel and Toe stocking
RIAA – Recording Industry Association of America
RIB – Rigid Inflatable Boat
RICE – Rest, ice, compression, elevation
RIP – Requiescat in Pace (Rest in Peace)
RIPA – Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act
RKO – Radio-Keith-Orpheum Pictures
RON – Research Octane Number
RPG – Rocket Propelled Grenade
RPI – Retail Prices Index
RRR – Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
RSJ – Rolled Steel Joist
RSPP – Royal Society of Portrait Painters
RSMA – Royal Society of Maritime Arts
RSS – Really Simple Syndication or Rich Site Summary
RSWT – Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts
RSV – Revised Standard Version of the Bible
RTB – Right To Buy
S2P – State Second Pension
SAA – South Atlantic Anomaly
SANE – Scanner Access Now Easy
SAR – Special Administrative Region
SATs – Standard Assessment Tasks
SCART – Syndicat des Constructeurs d'Appareils Radiorécepteurs et Téléviseurs, Radio and Television Receiver Manufacturers' Association
SCOTUS – Supreme Court of the United States
SDA – Severe Disability Allowance
SEAL – Sea, Air, Land Teams
SETI – Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence
SIDS – Sudden Infant Death Syndrome
SIPP – Self-Invested Personal Pension
SIS – Secret Intelligence Service
SIV – Structured Investment Vehicle
SMOM – Sovereign Military Order of Malta
SMS – Short Message Service
SNGMA – Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art
SOAS – School of Oriental and African Studies
SOCO – Scene of Crime Officer
SOES – Small Order Execution System
SOLT – Society of London Theatre
SONAR – Sound Navigation and Ranging
SOSUS – Sound Surveillance System
SPAB – Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings
SPECTRE – Special Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion
SPQR – Senatus Populusque Romanus (For the senate and the people of Rome)
SPR – Strategic Petroleum Reserve
SQUID – Superconducting Quantum Interference Device
SRS – Supplemental Restraint System
SRS – Single Room Subsidy
START – Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty
STEM – Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics
STV – Single Transferable Vote
SUA – Sudden Unintended Acceleration
SWAT – Special Weapons and Tactics
SWF – Sovereign Wealth Fund
TAR – Tibetan Autonomous Region
Taser – Thomas A. Swift's Electric Rifle
TASS – Telegraph Agency of the Soviet Union
TCAS – Traffic Collision Avoidance System
TDK – Tokyo Denkikagaku Kogyo (Tokyo Electronics and Chemicals)
TfL – Transport for London
TFT – Thin Filmed Transistor
THRUSH – Technological Hierarchy for the Removal of Undesirables and the
Subjugation of Humanity
TLR – Twin Lens Reflex
TMO – Television Match Official
TMS – Test Match Special
TSS – Toxic Shock Syndrome
TTL – Through the lens
TVP – Textured Vegetable Protein
TWOC – Taken Without Owner’s Consent
U5MR – Under Five Mortality Rate
UAV – Unmanned Aerial Vehicle
UBR – Uniform Business Rate
UCAS – Universities and Colleges Admissions Service
UCATT – Union of Construction, Allied Trades and Technicians
UCAV – Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle
UCE – Unsolicited Commercial Email
UCLA – University of California Los Angles
UDI – Unilateral Declaration of Independence
UKAEA – United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority
UKBA – United Kingdom Border Agency
UNCLE – United Network Command for Law and Enforcement
UNCTAD – United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
UNEP – United Nations Environment Programme
UNFCCC – United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
UNITA – National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (Portuguese: União Nacional para a Independência Total de Angola)
UPI – United Press International
USAID – United States Agency for International Development
USAN – Union of South American Nations
UTC – University Technical College
VED – Vehicle Excise Duty
VHS – Video Home System
(U)VLCC – (Ultra) Very Large Crude Carrier
VGA – Video Graphics Array
VSOP – Very Special (or Superior) Old Pale
WADA – World Anti Doping Agency
WAP – Wireless Application Protocol
WAVES – Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service
WEEE – Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment
WFP – World Food Programme
WGA – Writer’s Guild of America
WGMS – World Glacier Monitoring Service
WIMAX – Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access
WIPO – World Intellectual Property Organisation
WOMAD – World of Music, Arts and Dance
WOMBAT – Waste of Money, Brains and Time
WRAP – Waste and Resources Action Programme
WSSD – World Summit on Sustainable Development
WWF – World Wide Fund for Nature
ZANU-PF – Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front
ZEV – Zero Emission Vehicle
ZIP – Zone Improvement Plan
