[ak-ruh-nim] 
| 1. | a word formed from the initial letters or groups of letters of words in a set phrase or series of words, as Wac from Women's Army Corps, OPEC from Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, or loran from long-range navigation. |
| 2. | an acrostic. |
| 3. | to make an acronym of: The committee's name has been acronymed MIKE. |
| ac·ro·nym (āk'rə-nĭm') n. A word formed from the initial letters of a name, such as WAC for Women's Army Corps, or by combining initial letters or parts of a series of words, such as radar for radio detecting and ranging. [acr(o)- + -onym.] ac'ro·nym'ic, a·cron'y·mous (ə-krŏn'ə-məs) adj. |
A word formed by combining the beginning letters of a name or phrase, as in WASP for white Anglo-Saxon Protestant, or by combining the initial syllables of a series of words, as in radar, which stands for radio detecting and ranging.
Note: Acronyms are often less clumsy than the complete expressions they represent and are easier to write and remember.
rə