Contraction
A contraction is a type of abbreviation that skips letters in a word or phrase to create a single, shorter word. It will usually use an apostrophe to show that letters are missing.
Array Shortened Words and Phrases
Initialism
An initialism is a type of abbreviation where you combine the first letters of each word in a sentence or phrase. It looks like a new word, but you pronounce each letter individually when you say it out loud.
Acronym
An acronym is a type of abbreviation where you make a word from a phrase or sentence. You make this word by taking the first letter of each word in the original phrase or sentence. Then, you pronounce it like it’s a new word on its own – you don’t sound out each letter individually.
Abbreviation
An abbreviation is a shorter version of a word or phrase.