"Techno-speak" is an impediment to all beginners. The list below includes most of the popular acronyms and abbreviations that have invaded the language of technicians, engineers and programmers. Students are advised to peruse this list of common acronyms and abbreviations, determine how many of them they already know, and then begin learning the others. Sometimes the pivotal point in an interview centers on the response to a single question that may include acronyms and/or abbreviations.

Other useful resources for electronic abbreviations can be found at http://www.irf.com/technical-info/guide/gloss.html

A
A	Ampere
AC	Alternating Current
ACK	Acknowledge (logic or protocol signal)
ACIA	Asynchronous Communication Interface Adapter
ACL	Advanced CMOS Logic (as in 74ACL245)
A/D	Analog to Digital
AF	Audio Frequency
AFC	Automatic Frequency Control
AGC	Automatic Gain Control
AH	Ampere-Hour (capacity rating for cells and batteries)
AI	Artificial Intelligence
AKA	Also Known As
ALC	Automatic Level Control
ALU	Arithmetic Logic Unit
A/N	Alphanumeric
ANSI	American National Standards Institute
ARRL	American Radio Relay League
AS	Advanced Schottky (as in 74AS245)
ASCII	American Standard Code for Information Interchange
ASIC	Application Specific Integrated Circuit
ASK	Amplitude Shift Keying
ATC	Air Traffic Control
AV	Audio/Visual
AVC	Automatic Volume Control
B	^ Back to Top ^
BASIC	Beginners All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code
BBD	Bucket Brigade Device
BCE	Binary Coded Decimal
BEV	Billion Electron Volts
BIFET	Bipolar Field-Effect Transistor
BJT	Bipolar Junction Transistor
BNC	Baby N Connector
BPI	Bits Per Inch
BPS	Bits Per Second
BTW	By The Way
B&W	Black & White (TV)
BW	BandWidth
C	^ Back to Top ^
C	Capacitance
CAD	Computer Assisted Design or Computer Aided Drafting
CADA	Computer Assisted Design and Analysis
CADD	Computer Assisted Design and Development
CAE	Computer Assisted Engineering
CAM	Computer Assisted Manufacturing
CAN	CANcel
CAS	Column Address Strobe (logic signal)
CATV	CAble TeleVision
CB	Citizens Band
CBI	Complementary BInary or Computer Based Instruction
CBT	Computer Based Training
CC	Constant Current
CCD	Charge Coupled Device (light sensitive types used in cameras)
CCITT	International Telegraphy and Telephony Consultative Committee
CCTV	Closed Circuit TeleVision
CCW	Counter Clock Wise
CD	Compact Disk
CD-I	Compact Disk - Interactive
CDR	Compact Disk Recordable
CDROM	Compact Disk Read Only Memory
CDRW	Compact Disk ReWriteable
CECL	Cascode Emitter Coupled Logic
CEMA	Consumer Electronics Manufacturers Association
CEMF	Counter ElectroMotive Force
CERDIP	CERamic Dual Inline Package
CES	Consumer Electronics Show
CF	Center Frequency or Cubic Feet
CFM	Cubic Feet per Minute
CIM	Computer Integrated Manufacturing
CISC	Complex Instruction Set Computer (vs RISC)
CL	Current Loop
CMOS	Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor
CP/M	Control Program for Microcomputers (operating system)
CPI	Characters Per Inch
CPU	Central Processing Unit
CRC	Cyclic Redundancy Check (error detection scheme)
CRT	Cathode Ray Tube
CS	Control Strobe (logic signal)
CSA	Canadian Standards Association (UL's Canadian counterpart)
CTC	Counter/Timer Circuit
CTS	Clear To Send (protocol signal)
CV	Constant Voltage
CVT	Constant Voltage Transformer
CW	ClockWise
CYMK	Cyan Yellow Magenta blacK (the subtractive primaries plus black; used in color printing)
D	^ Back to Top ^
D/A	Digital to Analog
DAC	Digital to Analog Converter or Data Acquisition and Control
DARPA	Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
DAV	Data AValiable or DatA Valid (protocol or logic signals)
DB	Data Base
dB	DeciBel
dBA	DeciBel - Adjusted (weighted to human hearing)
dBK	DeciBel (1 kilowatt reference)
DBM	Data Base Management
dBm	DeciBel (1 milliwatt reference)
dBV	DeciBel (1 volt reference)
dBX	DeciBel - above reference
DC	Direct Current
DCD	Data Carrier Detect (protocol signal)
DDS	Direct Digital Synthesis
DES	Data Encryption Standard
DIAC	Bilateral trigger diode (two terminal TRIAC)
DIL	Dual In Line
DIN	Deutsche Industrie Normenausschuss (the German Standards Institute)
DIP	Dual Inline Package
DLC	Dual Layer Capacitor
DMA	Direct Memory Access
DMM	Digital MultiMeter
DOD	Department of Defense
DOS	Disk Operating System
DOT	Department of Transportation
DP	Data Processing
DPDT	Double Pole Double Throw (as in a switch)
DPI	Dots Per Inch (as in resolution)
DPST	Double Pole Single Throw (as in a switch)
DRAM	Dynamic Random Access Memory
DS	Data Strobe (logic signal)
DSO	Digital Storage Oscilloscope
DSP	Digital Signal Processing
DSR	Data Set Ready (protocol signal)
DTL	Diode Transistor Logic (predecessor of TTL)
DTMF	Dual Tone Multi Frequency (often called Touch Tone)
DTR	Data Terminal Ready (protocol signal)
DVM	Digital Volt-Meter
E	^ Back to Top ^
E2PROM	Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory
EAROM	Electrically Alterable Read Only Memory
EBCDIC	Extended Binary Coded Decimal Interchange Code
ECC	Error Checking and Correction
ECL	Emitter Coupled Logic
EEPROM	Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory
EGA	Enhanced Graphics Adapter
EHF	Extremely High Frequency
EIA	Electronics Industries Association
EL	ElectroLuminescent
ELF	Extremely Low Frequency
EMF	ElectroMotive Force
EMI	ElectroMagnetic Interference
EMP	ElectroMagnetic Pulse
ENIAC	Electronic Numerical Integrator and Calculator (the first computer)
EOT	End Of Transmission (protocol signal)
EPLD	Electrically Programmable Logic Device
EPROM	Electrically Programmable Read Only Memory (ultraviolet erase)
EQ	EQualizer
ESA	European Space Agency
ESD	Electrostatic Sensitive Device or ElectroStatic Discharge
ESR	Equivalent Series Resistance
EV	Electron Volt
F	^ Back to Top ^
F	Farad (measure of capacitance)
FAA	Federal Aviation Administration
FAST	Fairchild Advanced Schottky TTL (as in 74F245)
FAX	Facsimile
FCC	Federal Communications Commission
FDC	Floppy Disk Controller
FDX	Full DupleX
FET	Field Effect Transistor
FF	Flip Flop
FFT	Fast Fourier Transform
FIFO	First In First Out (memory or shift register)
FILO	First In Last Out
FM	Frequency Modulation
FORTRAN	FORmula TRANslator (programming language)
FP	Floating Point
FPGA	Field Programmable Gate Array
FPLA	Field Programmable Logic Array
FPP	Floating Point Processor
FPU	Floating Point Unit
FSK	Frequency Shift Keying
FTP	File Transfer Protocol
FUBAR	Fouled Up Beyond Any Repair
FVC	Frequency to Voltage Converter
G	^ Back to Top ^
GA	Gate Array
GAL	Generic Array Logic
GCS	Gate Controlled Switch
GFCI	Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter
GFI	Ground Fault Interrupter
GFLOPS	Billions of Floating Point operations per Second
GIGO	Garbage In Garbage Out
GND	GrouND
GPIB	General Purpose Interface Bus (evolved from HPIB by Hewlett Packard)
GPS	Global Positioning System
GUI	Graphical User Interface (software)
H	^ Back to Top ^
HAL	Hardwired Array Logic
HC	High speed CMOS (as in 74HC245)
HCT	High speed CMOS with TTL thresholds (as in 74HCT245)
HD	High Density
HDC	Hard Disk Controller
HDTV	High Definition TeleVision
HDX	Half DupleX
HER	High Efficiency Red (as in a LED)
HET	Heterodyne (non-linear frequency mixing)
HF	High Frequency
HFS	Hierarchical File System
HIC	Hybrid Integrated Circuit
HP	Hewlett Packard (company) or Horse Power
HPIB	Hewlett Packard Interface Bus (evolved into GPIB)
HPIL	Hewlett Packard Interface Loop (as in HP41CX calculator)
HTL	High Threshold Logic
HVDC	High Voltage Direct Current
HVPS	High Voltage Power Supply
Hz	Hertz (frequency in cycles per second)
I	^ Back to Top ^
I2ICE	Integrated Instrumentation and In Circuit Emulation
I2R	Current (I) squared x Resistance (power due to current flow through a resistance)
IA	Instrumentation Amplifier
IC	Integrated Circuit
ICE	In Circuit Emulation
IEEE	Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
IF	Intermediate Frequency
IGFET	Insulated Gate Field Effect Transistor
IMHO	In My Humble Opinion
IMNHO	In My Not so Humble Opinion
I/O	Input/Output
IOP	Input/Output Processor
IP	Interface Processor or Internet Protocol
IR	Current-Resistance (as in IR loss) or InfraRed
IRED	InfraRed Emitting Diode
IRLED	InfraRed Light Emitting Diode
IRQ	Interrupt ReQuest
ISA	Instrument Society of America
ISN	Information Systems Network
ISO	In Search Of
J	^ Back to Top ^
JEDEC	Joint Electron Device Engineering Council
JFET	Junction Field Effect Transistor
JIS	Japanese Industrial Standard
JPL	Jet Propulsion Laboratory
JUG	Joint Users Group
K	^ Back to Top ^
k	Kilo (1000 units)
kA	Kilo Ampere (1000 A)
kbPS	Kilo bits Per Second
kEV	Kilo Electron Volts
kHz	Kilo Hertz (1000 cycles per second)
kVA	Kilo Volt Amperes
kW	Kilo Watts
kWH	Kilo Watt Hours
L	^ Back to Top ^
L	Inductance
L2FET	Logic Level Field Effect Transistor
LAN	Local Area Network
LASCR	Light Activated Silicon Controlled Rectifier
LASER	Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation
LC	Inductance and Capacitance (as in a tank circuit or filter)
LCD	Liquid Crystal Display
LCM	Least/Lowest Common Multiple
LD	Line Driver
LED	Light Emitting Diode
LF	Low Frequency
LIFO	Last In First Out
LISP	LISt Processing (computer language)
LLFET	Logic Level Field Effect Transistor
LO	Local Oscillator
LORAN	LOng RAnge Navigation
LP	Low Pass
LPC	Linear Predictive Coding
LPM	Lines Per Minute
LPT	Line PrinTer (port - aka parallel port)
LSB	Least Significant Bit or Lower SideBand
LSD	Least Significant Digit
LSI	Large Scale Integration
LUT	Look Up Table
LW	Long Wave
M	^ Back to Top ^
mAH	milliAmpere-Hour (capacity rating of small cells and batteries)
MB	MegaBytes (millions of bytes)
Mb	Megabits (millions of bits)
MBPS	Million Bytes Per Second
MbPS	Million bits Per Second
MCA	Micro Channel Architecture
MCU	Micro Computer Unit
MDAC	Multiplying Digital to Analog Converter
MECL	Motorola Emitter Coupled Logic
MFLOPS	Millions of Floating Point operations per Second
MFM	Modified Frequency Modulation
MHz	MegaHertz
MIDI	Music Instrument Digital Interface
MIL	MILitary
MILSPEC	MILitary SPECification
MIPS	Millions of Instructions Per Second
MMU	Memory Management Unit
MO	Master Oscillator
MOS	Metal Oxide Semiconductor
MOSFET	Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect Transistor
MOV	Metal Oxide Varistor
MPU	Main Processing Unit
MR	Magnetic Resonance
MSDOS	MicroSoft Disk Operating System
MSB	Most Significant Bit
MSD	Most Significant Digit
MSDS	Material Safety Data Sheet
MSI	Medium Scale Integration
MTBF	Mean Time Between Failures
MTS	Multichannel Television Sound
MUF	Maximum Usable Frequency
MUX	Multiplexer
N	^ Back to Top ^
NASA	National Aeronautics and Space Administration
NC	Not Connected (contact or pin) or Normally Closed (switch/relay)
NCO	Numerically Controlled Oscillator (same as DDS)
NEDA	National Electronics Distributors Association
NEG	NEGative
NEMA	National Electrical Manufacturers Association
nF	NanoFarad (common measure of capacitance, 1 x 10-9 Farads)
NFS	Network File Server
NiCad	Nickel Cadmium (rechargeable battery) by Saft, America
NiMH	Nickel Metal Hydride (rechargeable battery)
NMOS	N-channel Metal Oxide Semiconductor
NMR	Nuclear Magnetic Resonance
NO	Normally Open (switch/relay)
NOAA	National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
NORAD	NORth American Defense
NPN	Negative Positive Negative (BJT polarity)
NPO	Negative Positive 0 temperature coefficient (some ceramic capacitors)
NPR	Nations Public Radio
NRZ	Non Return to Zero
NRZI	Non Return to Zero Invert
NSB	National Science Board
NSF	National Science Foundation
NSPE	National Society of Professional Engineers
NT	Network Terminator
NTC	Negative Temperature Coefficient
NTSC	National Television Systems Committee (U.S.A. TV/Video standard)
O	^ Back to Top ^
OBTW	Oh, By The Way
OC	Open Collector
OCR	Optical Character Recognition
OEM	Original Equipment Manufacturer
OO	Object Oriented (programming)
OOP	Object Oriented Programming
OPAMP	OPerational AMPlifier
OS	Operating System
OSCAR	Orbiting Satellite Carrying Amateur Radio
OSHA	Occupational Safety and Health Administration
OTDR	Optical Time Domain Reflectometry
OTOH	On The Other Hand
OTP	One Time Programmable (as in PROM or plastic EPROM)
OVP	Over Voltage Protection
P	^ Back to Top ^
PA	Power Amplifier or Public Address
PAL	Programmable Array Logic (by Monolithic Memories)
PBX	Private Branch eXchange
PC	Personal Computer or Printed Circuit or Program Counter
PCB	Printed Circuit Board
PCC	Plastic Chip Carrier
PCM	Pulse Code Modulation
PEC	PhotoElectric Cell
PEP	Peak Envelope Power
PF	Power Factor
PG	Power Gain
PGA	Pin Grid Array
PIA	Peripheral Interface Adapter
PIC	Priority Interrupt Controller or Parallax'es microcontroller name
PIV	Peak Inverse Voltage
PIXEL	PI(X)cture ELement
PLA	Programmable Logic Array
PLCC	Plastic Leaded Chip Carrier
PLD	Programmable Logic Device
PLL	Phase Locked Loop
PM	Phase Modulation or Pulse Modulation
PNP	Positive Negative Positive (BJT polarity)
POS	Point Of Sale or POSitive
POV	Peak Operating Voltage
PPI	Pixels Per Inch
PPM	Parts Per Million or Pulse Position Modulation
PPS	Pulses Per Second
PRN	Pseudo Random Noise
PROM	Programmable Read Only Memory
PRV	Peak Reverse Voltage or Peak Repetitive Voltage
PSG	Programmable Sound Generator
PSI	Pounds per Square Inch (pressure)
PSK	Phase Shift Keying
PTC	Positive Temperature Coefficient
PTT	Push To Talk (microphone)
PUT	Programmable Unijunction Transistor
PV	PhotoVoltaic
PWM	Pulse Width Modulation
PWR	PoWeR
Q	^ Back to Top ^
QA	Quality Assurance
QC	Quality Control
QIC	Quarter Inch Cartridge
QIP	Quad Inline Package
QSM	Quad Surface Mount
QWERTY	Standard keyboard layout (computers, typewriters, etc.)
R	^ Back to Top ^
R	Resistance
R&D	Research and Development
RAD	Radiation Absorbed Dose
RADAR	RAdio Detection And Ranging
RAM	Random Access Memory
RAS	Row Address Strobe (logic signal)
RC	Radio Control or Resistance and Capacitance (as in a RC filter)
RCV	ReCeiVe
RD	Receive Data or ReaD (logic signal)
RDA	Deceive Data
RDY	ReaDY
REM	Roentgen Equivalent Man
REP	Roentgen Equivalent Physical
RET	RETurn
RF	Radio Frequency
RFI	Radio Frequency Interference
RGB	Red Green Blue (the additive primary colors)
RH	Relative Humidity
RHDP	Right Hand Decimal Point
RISC	Reduced Instruction Set Computer (vs CISC)
RLC	Resistance Inductance Capacitance (a circuit with all three)
RLG	Ring Laser Gyroscope
RMI	Radio Magnetic Interference
RMS	Root Mean Square
ROM	Read Only Memory
RPM	Revolutions Per Minute
RPN	Reverse Polish Notation (used in some HP calculators)
RPS	Revolutions Per Second
RS	Reed Solomon (error correction)
RT	Real Time or Rise Time
RTD	Resistance Temperature Detector
RTI	Real Time Interrupt
RTL	Resistor Transistor Logic
RTOS	Real Time Operating System
RTS	Request To Send (protocol signal)
S	^ Back to Top ^
S/H	Sample and Hold
S/N	Signal to Noise (ratio)
SAW	Surface Acoustic Wave
SBC	Single Board Computer
SCA	SubCarrier Adapter
SCI	Serial Communication Interface
SCL	Serial CLock
SCR	Silicon Controlled Rectifier
SCS	Silicon Controlled Switch
SCSI	Small Computer System Interface
SD	Standard Deviation
SDI	Strategic Defense Initiative
SDRAM	Synchronous Dynamic Random Access Memory
SEM	Scanning Electron Microscope
SEMI	Semiconductor Equipment and Materials Institute
SFC	polyStyrene Film Capacitor
SG	Signal Ground
SHF	Super High Frequency
SI	System International (international system of units)
SIMM	Single Inline Memory Module
SIO	Serial Input and Output
SIPO	Serial In Parallel Out
SLC	Single Layer Ceramic (capacitor)
SM	Surface Mount
SMD	Surface Mount Device
SNR	Signal to Noise Ratio
SMT	Surface Mount Technology
SO	Serial Output or Small Outline
SOIC	Small Outline Integrated Circuit
SOJ	Small Outline J-leaded (chip package)
SOLV	SOLenoid Valve
SONAR	SOund NAvigation and Ranging
SOP	Small Outline Package
SP	Signal Processor or Stack Pointer
SPDT	Single Pole Double Throw (switch)
SPI	Serial to Parallel Interface
SPICE	Simulation Program with Integrated Circuit Emphasis
SPL	Sound Pressure Level
SPST	Single Pole Single Throw (switch)
SQL	Structured Query Language (for databases)
SR	Shift Register
SRAM	Static Random Access Memory
SSB	Single SideBand
SSI	Small Scale Integration
SSR	Solid State Relay
SSTV	Slow Scan TeleVision
SVGA	Superior Versatile Graphics Adapter (800 x 600 pixels)
SW	Short Wave
T	^ Back to Top ^
T/H	Track and Hold
TC	Temperature Coefficient
TCP/IP	Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol
TD	Tunnel Diode
TDD	Telecommunication Devices for the Deaf
TDR	Time Domain Reflectometry
TEM	Transverse ElectroMagnetic (microwaves/waveguides)
TF	Transfer Function
TFD	Thin Film Detector
TFEL	Thin Film ElectroLuminescent
TFT	Thin Film Transistor
THD	Total Harmonic Distortion
THz	Terra Hertz
TI	Texas Instruments (a company)
TIG	Tungsten Inert Gas
TM	Transverse Magnetic (wave)
TR	Transient Response
TRIAC	TRIode AC switch (bilateral SCR)
TS	Time Sharing
TTL	Transistor Transistor Logic
TV	TeleVision
TWT	Traveling Wave Tube
U	^ Back to Top ^
UART	Universal Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitter
_F	micro Farad (common unit of capacitance, 1 x 10-6 Farads)
UHF	Ultra High Frequency
UHV	Ultra High Vacuum
UJT	UniJunction Transistor
UL	Underwriters Laboratories
ULSI	Ultra Large Scale Integration
UPC	Universal Product Code
UPS	Uninterruptible Power Supply
USART	Universal Synchronous/Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitter
USB	Universal Serial Bus or Upper SideBand
UTC	Universal Time Code (same as Coordinated Universal Time)
UV	UltraViolet
UVA	UltraViolet Alpha
UVB	UltraViolet Beta
V	^ Back to Top ^
V	Volt
VA	Volt Ampere
VAC	Volts Alternating Current
VAR	VARiable or Volt Amperes Reactive
VARICAP	VARIable CAPacitance diode
VCC	Supply Voltage (BJT - Collector)
VCD	Variable Capacitance Diode
VCO	Voltage Controlled Oscillator
VCR	Video Cassette Recorder
VDC	Volts Direct Current
VDD	Supply Voltage (FET - Drain)
VEE	Supply Voltage (BJT - Emitter)
VF	Vacuum Fluorescent
VFC	Voltage to Frequency Converter
VFO	Variable Frequency Oscillator
VGA	Versatile Graphics Adapter (640 x 480 pixels)
VHF	Very High Frequency
VLF	Very Low Frequency
VLSI	Very Large Scale Integration
VLT	Video Look up Table
VOL	VOLume
VOM	Volt OhmMeter
VOX	Voice Operated transmit (transmit = X as in "Xmitter")
VR	Voltage Regulator or Virtual Reality
VRAM	Video Random Access Memory
VS	Vertical Sync
VSS	Supply Voltage (FET - Source)
VT	Virtual Terminal
VTM	Voltage Tunable Magnetron
VTO	Voltage Tuned Oscillator
VTVM	Vacuum Tube Volt Meter
VXO	Variable crystal Oscillator
W	^ Back to Top ^
WACK	Wait before ACKnowledge
WDT	Watch Dog Timer
WH	Watt Hour
WHR	Watt HouR
WP	Word Processor
WPM	Words Per Minute
WR	WRite (logic signal)
WV	Working Voltage
WVDC	Working Volts DC
Ww	Wire Wound or Wire Wrap
X	^ Back to Top ^
XGA	eXtended Graphics Adapter (1024 x 768 pixels)
XMT	TransMiT
XOFF	Transmit OFF (protocol signal)
XON	Transmit ON (protocol signal)
XTAL	CrysTAL
Y	^ Back to Top ^
YAG	Yttrium Aluminum Garnet (laser)
YIG	Yttrium Iron Garnet
Z	^ Back to Top ^
ZD	Zero Defects
ZDT	Zero Defect Tolerance
ZIF	Zero Insertion Force
ZIP	Zigzag Inline Package or software file compression scheme (zip files)