An initialism is a word formed from the initial letters of each word in a phrase, such as "NASA" or "FBI."
Is NASA an acronym or an initialism?
According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, an acronym is "a word (such as NATO, radar, or laser) formed from the initial letters of a series of words and pronounced as a word." An initialism is "an abbreviation pronounced one letter at a time (such as FBI or IRS)."
So, technically speaking, NASA is an acronym. However, it is commonly referred to as an initialism, since the letters are pronounced one letter at a time. Is LOL an acronym or initialism? LOL is an acronym that stands for "laugh out loud." It is commonly used informally online to indicate when something is funny. What is a acronym or initialism? An acronym is an abbreviation that is pronounced as a word. An initialism is an abbreviation pronounced one letter at a time. Is ATM an acronym or initialism? ATM is an acronym because it is pronounced as a word, not as a series of initial letters. Is FBI an acronym? No, "FBI" is not an acronym. It is an initialism. An acronym is a word formed from the first letters of a series of words, and it is pronounced as a word. An initialism is a series of initial letters pronounced one letter at a time.