How to Pluralize Abbreviations, Acronyms, and Initialisms

PDF download Download Article
PDF download Download Article

An acronym is an abbreviation used as a word, such as the words laser, radar, and DVD. Acronyms are generally formed from the first letters of a longer phrase. For example, CD is easier to say than compact disc. The utilization of acronyms as plurals is not always understood or implemented consistently by writers. Let's try to clarify how to pluralize these abbreviations.

Steps

PDF download Download Article
    • Does it have more than a single letter?
    • Does it have periods between the letters?
    • Does it have all capital letters?
    • EXAMPLE: You must receive all A's or B's to pass this course.
    • EXAMPLE: Egg is spelled with two g's.
    Advertisement
    • EXAMPLE: We hired three C.P.A.'s for our office.
    • EXAMPLE: She earned two Ph.D.'s from Purdue University.
  4. If an abbreviation which is longer than a single letter does not have periods between the letters, pluralize it by adding "s".
    • EXAMPLE: Return the CDs that you borrowed.
    • EXAMPLE: Jay owns five GTOs.
    • EXAMPLE: Upload the GIFs to my Dropbox.
  5. Do not add an apostrophe before the "s".
    • EXAMPLE: We have Netflix on both TVs.
    • EXAMPLE: Don't point lasers at people.
    • EXAMPLE: Who ate my M&Ms?
    6. Advertisement

Community Q&A

Search
Add New Question
  • Question
    Would I write FoIs or FoI's in the sentence "We received several FoIs today"?
    Community Answer
    An apostrophe never works as a plural; it's always a contraction. Therefore, your sentence is correct.
    Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
    Thank you for your feedback.
    If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow
    Yes No
    Not Helpful 35 Helpful 9
Ask a Question
200 characters left
Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered.
Submit
      Advertisement

      Tips

      • For the purpose of this brief article, we will not distinguish between initialism and acronym.
        Thanks
        Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0
      Submit a Tip
      All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published
      Name
      Please provide your name and last initial
      Submit
      Thanks for submitting a tip for review!
      Advertisement

      You Might Also Like

      How to
      Use i.e. Correctly (With Examples)
      Is It James' or James's?
      How to
      Abbreviate Years: A Writing Guide
      How to
      Improve Your Grammar
      How to
      Change a Verb to a Noun
      How to
      Use “Respectively” in Your Writing: A Complete Guide
      How to
      Use Contractions
      How to
      Create a Syntax Tree
      How to
      Identify an Adjective
      A Step-By-Step Guide to Add Grammarly to Word on PC
      How to
      Use "Etc." Correctly
      Should You Use “He and I” or “Him and I” in a Sentence?
      How to
      Address an MP
      How to
      Use "Too" and "To" Correctly
      Advertisement

      References

      1. https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/621/01/
      2. https://afterdeadline.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/13/faqs-on-style/
      3. https://blog.apastyle.org/apastyle/abbreviations/

      About This Article

      Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 41,126 times.

      Reader Success Stories

      • Husayn Muhammad

        Jan 10, 2020

        "Was trying figure out how the grammatically-correct way to abbreviate and pluralize "frequencies", and ..." more
      Share your story

      Did this article help you?

      Advertisement