English Club : Learn English : Vocabulary : Top 20 Words : Abbreviations

Abbreviations

The rule for punctuation of abbreviations is:

  • if last letter of word and abbreviation are the same: no full stop (for example Ltd)
  • if last letter of word and abbreviation are NOT the same: full stop (for example Co.)
1A.G.M.Annual General Meeting (of company shareholders)
2A.O.B.any other business (at the end of a meeting agenda)
3a/caccount, as for bank account [eg: a/c no. 123456789]
4c.i.f.cost, insurance, freight
5c/ocare of [on an envelope eg: Mrs G Smith, c/o Mrs B Brown]
6cc:copies to [at the end of a letter eg:
cc: TE, JMR, JSA]
7Co.Company
8e.g.for example [from the Latin exempli gratia]
9E.G.M.Extraordinary General Meeting (of company shareholders)
10f.o.b.free on board
11f.o.c.free of charge
12HQheadquarters (of a company or other organisation)
13Inc.USIncorporated [after the name of a firm organised as a legal corporation]
14LtdUKLimited [after the name of a firm organised as a legal company]
15O.H.P.overhead projector
16P.A.personal assistant
17PLCUKPublic Limited Company [for a firm whose shares are sold on the open market]
18p.t.o.please turn over [at the end of a page]
19v.a.t.value added tax
20WPword processing (or creation of text by computer)