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Author:
Chiara Pegoraro
If you use English in a corporate setting, knowing common business acronyms and their meanings is essential to your job. Imagine you receive an email from work. After the usual “I hope everything is great” and general niceties, it announces that there is an important meeting. You read, “Time and date TBA, and FYI we will make sure that everything is on track to meet the KPI before the end of Q1.”
What?
As if learning a new language wasn’t enough, the wide variety of business acronyms and abbreviations in English can seem like a different language altogether. Sure, you could google them one by one, but that’s very time-consuming.
This comprehensive guide will help you better understand corporate abbreviations and memorize them in a way that makes sense. Once you know these, you'll soon be using business communication like a pro!
Emails and messages
Let’s start with a set of acronyms that are not business-specific but nonetheless appear in a lot of business communication. In business, there’s a lot of writing and messaging and checking older messages to understand when the boss will be around. In this type of written communication, being brief is key, so you will find a lot of acronyms.
Acronyms used in messaging
| Acronym | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| BRB | be right back | I need to step out for a quick break. BRB. |
| BTW | by the way (used to add a comment or additional information) | BTW, our meeting was postponed to 4pm. |
| DM | direct message (often used as a verb) | I’ll DM you the details of your trip. |
| FYI | for your information (used to refer to something important that the reader might not know) | FYI, I’ll be on holiday next week, so please refer to Sarah. |
| IAM | in a meeting (often used as a temporary status on one’s profile) | IAM until 10. For urgent matters, DM Alex. |
| ICYMI | in case you missed it (used to bring up important information) | ICYMI, our team received a special mention. |
| IDK | I don’t know | IDK if the client saw the proposal yet. I’ll check with them. |
| IM | instant message (also used as a verb) | In case you have any questions, IM me anytime. |
| IMO | in my opinion | Well, IMO we should prioritize customer care in this case. |
| LOL | laughing out loud (used to indicate a joke) | I haven’t had my coffee yet, you can’t ask me that, LOL. |
| OMG | oh my God (used to express surprise) | OMG, did you see the feedback we got? It’s amazing! |
| OOO | out of office (often used as a temporary status on one’s profile) | Please remember to set your OOO replies before leaving for your holidays. |
| RSVP | répondez s'il vous plaît (used to indicate that you will attend an event, can be used as a verb) | Just a reminder to RSVP for the team lunch next week. |
Too soon or too late?
In business communication, it’s very important to have a clear idea about deadlines, schedules, times of arrival and other time-related concepts. A variety of acronyms offer a quick reference to time and are used in both day-to-day communication and in business. Let’s look at the most important ones in the table below.
Time-related acronyms
| Acronym | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| ASAP | as soon as possible | Let’s meet ASAP to go over the new changes. |
| EOD | end of day | Please submit your timesheet by EOD Friday. |
| EOY | end of year | Let’s schedule a meeting before EOY to establish a budget. |
| ETA | expected time of arrival (related to shipments) | What’s the ETA on the shipment? |
| TBD | to be determined | The launch date for the new app is still TBD. |
| TBA | to be announced | Time and place TBA. |
| Q1 | first quarter (from January 1 to March 31) | We need to start Q1 with excellent results. |
| Q2 | second quarter (from April 1 to June 30) | We’re projecting a 10% growth in Q2. |
| Q3 | third quarter (from July 1 to September 30) | This will be one of the main focuses of Q3. |
| Q4 | fourth quarter (from October 1 to December 31) | We’ll focus on end-of-year targets in Q4. |
Let’s talk business
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A big, corporate family
“We are all a big family” is probably one of the most used phrases regarding business, but just like in a family, everyone has a role. If you want to speak about a family, you use words like sister, grandfather, uncle, and niece. But if you want to speak about your company, you'd better get familiar with words like CEO, COO, HR, and a whole set of business acronyms.
Acronyms to refer to business or company structure
| Acronym | Meaning | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| CEO | Chief Executive Officer | The big boss. The highest-ranking executive in a company responsible for making major decisions. |
| CFO | Chief Financial Officer | The executive in charge of all finances, including record-keeping and risk management. |
| CMO | Chief Marketing Officer | The executive responsible for the company’s marketing strategy. |
| COO | Chief Operating Officer | The executive overseeing operations and the day-to-day work of a company. |
| HR | Human Resources | The department responsible for managing employees, including hiring, training and firing. |
| PA | Personal Assistant | A person providing administrative support to an executive, handling tasks like scheduling and travel arrangements. |
| PM | Project Manager | The person overseeing a specific project. |
| POC | Point of Contact | The person in charge of communications outside the company for a specific project. |
| PR | Public Relations | The department in charge of maintaining a positive public image of the company. |
| R&D | Research and Development | The department in charge of the innovation, design and development of new products. |
| SMM | Social Media Manager | The person in charge of a company’s social media strategy. |
Common acronyms used in business
This next group of business acronyms are used only in the business world – you won’t see these outside of business contexts. However, they are very common in everyday business communication, so it’s worth spending a little time to learn them.
Business-specific acronyms
| Acronym | Meaning | Explanation and example |
|---|---|---|
| B2B | Business to Business | Work between two companies rather than between a company and a single customer. Example: We’re expanding our B2B services to provide better support for wholesale partners. |
| B2C | Business to Consumer | Work between a company and individual consumers. Example: The B2C campaign aims to increase brand awareness directly with consumers. |
| CMS | Content Management System | A software program designed to manage digital content. Example: The marketing team needs a CMS that allows for easy content scheduling and tracking. |
| DMP | Data Management Platform | A platform that collects and organizes data from various sources for digital marketing. Example: The DMP has helped us analyze customer data to optimize our marketing strategies. |
| KPI | Key Performance Indicator | A specific set of objectives for a person, a team or a company. Example: One KPI for this quarter is increasing customer satisfaction by 10%. |
Pronunciation note
All the acronyms seen so far are initialisms, a type of abbreviation formed by the first letters of a series of words. Initialisms are pronounced as a sequence of individual letters rather than a single word. Unlike other acronyms like NASA (pronounced as a single word) initialisms like FYI, TBA or CEO are pronounced by saying each letter separately, so you would say, ‘F-Y-I,’ ‘T-B-A,’ and ‘C-E-O.’
To do or not to do business?
Some common acronyms refer to complex concepts used when running a business. We could say that these are the philosophical acronyms of our series. Behind these acronyms are business ideas, types of analysis, and frameworks used in reference to project management, marketing and sales. Unlike the previous acronyms we’ve covered, these are pronounced as whole words rather than saying each letter individually. So the first acronym in the table below, SMART, is pronounced just like the word ‘smart’ (not ‘S-M-A-R-T’). In this way, saying these terms is faster and feels more natural in conversation, improving communication efficiency.
Acronyms related to business analysis
| Acronym | Meaning | Explanation and example |
|---|---|---|
| SMART | Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound | A framework used to create clear and attainable objectives. Example: One of the SMART objectives for Q2 is to increase online sales by 10%. |
| SWOT | Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats | An analysis tool used to identify areas for improvement in a business or project. Example: The SWOT analysis highlighted our strengths in customer service but also revealed some weaknesses in marketing. |
| WYSIWYG | What You See Is What You Get | In digital editing, this indicates a version of the product that resembles the final product. Example: The WYSIWYG editor makes it possible to create web pages without knowing how to code. |
Wrapping up
Learning business English and its many acronyms can feel like studying a whole new language, but mastering these terms opens the door to effective communication in professional settings. Acronyms like CEO, FYI, and KPI are everywhere, from work-related social media like LinkedIn to professional emails. Understanding these terms will help you engage with colleagues and clients.
By building a strong foundation with the business acronyms in this guide, you’re not only learning vocabulary, but also understanding the complex concepts of business communication. Go ahead and put your professional skills to work – you’re ready to speak the language of business on your way to corporate success!
Want more business English?
If you are learning English to boost your career, Busuu is the app for you! Our English for Business course is perfect for mastering essential workplace English, whether you’re looking to write professional emails, craft a standout CV, ace your next interview, negotiate confidently, or connect seamlessly with global partners.
AUTHOR
Chiara Pegoraro
Newlanguages