Whether you’re walking to the corner café or talking to a friend, your everyday life is full of shortened words and acronyms that you may not even notice. Here are some common abbreviations that you might stumble into.
- approx. – approximately
- appt. – appointment
- apt. – apartment
- A.S.A.P. – as soon as possible
- B.Y.O.B. – bring your own bottle/beverage/beer
- c/o – care of
- dept. – department
- D.I.Y. – Do it yourself
- est. – established
- E.T.A. – estimated time of arrival
- min. – minute or minimum
- misc. – miscellaneous
- Mr. – Mister
- Mrs. (pronounced “missus”) – from the honorific “mistress”
- Ms. – Miss
- no. – number
- R.S.V.P. – Répondez, s’il vous plaît (from French for “please reply”)
- tel. – telephone
- temp. – temperature or temporary
- vet. – veteran or veterinarian
- vs. – versus