We Speak Tech
Common Acronyms
Academic
| Acronym | Meaning |
| AA | Associate of Arts (two-year undergraduate degree) |
| AAS | Associate of Applied Science (two-year undergraduate degree) |
| ACT | American College Testing |
| ADA | Americans with Disabilities ACT |
| ADD, ADHD | Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder |
| AP | Advanced Placement |
| APA | American Psychological Association |
| ASL | American Sign Language |
| BA | Bachelor of Arts (four-year undergraduate degree) |
| BS | Bachelor of Science (four-year undergraduate degree) |
| CAHSEE | California High School Exit Exam |
| DOH | Department of Health |
| ELA | English Language Arts |
| ELL | English language learner |
| ESL | English as a Second Language |
| EST | Educational Testing Service |
| ESY | Extended School Year Services |
| FERPA | Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act |
| GED | General Education Diploma |
| GMAT | Graduate Management Admission Test |
| GPA | Grade Point Average |
| GRE | Graduate Record Examinations |
| HS | High School |
| IDEA | Individuals with Disabilities Education Act |
| IEP | Individualized Education Program |
| IQ | Intelligence Quotient |
| K-12 | Kindergarten through 12th Grade |
| L1 | Language 1, a language learner’s first language |
| L2 | Language 2, a language learner’s second language |
| LEA | Local Education Agency |
| MA | Master of Arts (graduate degree) |
| MBA | Masters of Business Administration (graduate degree) |
| MD | medical doctor (doctor) |
| MLA | Modern Language Association |
| MS | Master of Science (graduate degree) |
| NCLB | No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 |
| NCLD | National Center for Learning Disabilities |
| ODD | Oppositional Defiant Disorder |
| RN | registered nurse |
| SAT | Scholastic Aptitude Test/Scholastic Assessment Test |
| TESOL | teaching English to speakers of other languages |
| TOEFL | Test Of English as a Foreign Language |
| TFL | teaching a foreign language |
Technology
| Acronym | Meaning |
| ATM | automated teller machine |
| B2B | business to business |
| CEO | chief executive officer |
| CFO | chief financial officer |
| CRM | customer relationship management |
| IPO | initial public offering |
| OTC (medication) | over-the-counter |
| SaaS | software as a service |
| Silicon Valley | the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California and home to the world's biggest high tech companies and thousands of startup companies |
| startup | a newly established business |
| SSN | Social Security Number |
Informative
| Acronym | Meaning |
| A.K.A | also known as |
| AKDT | Alaska Daylight Time |
| AKST | Alaska Standard Time |
| ASAP | as soon as possible |
| AST | Atlantic Standard Time |
| CDT | Central Daylight Time |
| CST | Central Standard Time |
| D.O.B. | date of birth |
| EDT | Eastern Daylight Time |
| EST | Eastern Standard Time |
| FYI | for your information |
| HADT | Hawaii-Aleutian Daylight Time |
| HST | Hawaii-Aleutian Standard Time |
| ID | identity |
| M.I. (name) | middle initial |
| MDT | Mountain Daylight Time |
| MST | Mountain Standard Time |
| NA; N/A | not applicable |
| PDT | Pacific Daylight Time |
| PST | Pacific Standard Time |
| TBC | to be continued |
| TBD | to be determined |
| TBA | to be assigned |
Social Media
| Acronym | Meaning |
| BBL | be back later |
| BBS | be back soon |
| TTYL | talk to you later |
| BC | because |
| BF | best friend |
| BF | boyfriend |
| BFF | best friends forever |
| BRB | be right back |
| BTW | by the way |
| FB | |
| GF | girlfriend |
| GR8 | great |
| IDK | I don't know |
| IKR | I know, right? |
| ILY/ ILU | I love you |
| RN | right now |
| ATM | at the moment |
| JK | just kidding |
| K/KK | okay |
| KISS | keep it short and simple/keep it simple stupid! |
| LOL | laugh out loud |
| NM; NVM | never mind |
| NP | no problem |
| NTS | note to self |
| OMG | oh my God |
| PLS/PLZ | please |
| PPL | people |
| SMH | shaking my head (an expression used when you cannot believe what you just read or heard because it is ridiculous or unbelievable) |
| TGIF | thank God it’s Friday |
| TMI | too much information (an expression used when you want to tell someone that they should not have said what they just said because it is embarrassing and should be private) |
| TTYL | talk to you later |
| TY | thank you |
| XOXO | hugs and kisses |