Acronym

==Comparing a few examples of each type==
<!--
ONLY FOUR (AT MOST) EXAMPLES OF EACH TYPE ARE NECESSARY. There are complete lists of acronyms elsewhere.
-->
*Pronounced as a word, containing ''only'' initial letters
**[[NATO]]: "North Atlantic Treaty Organization"
**[[Scuba set|Scuba]]: "self-contained underwater breathing apparatus"
**[[Laser]]: "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation"
**[[GIF]]: "graphics interchange format"
*Pronounced as a word, containing a mixture of initial and non-initial letters
**[[Amphetamine]]: "alpha-methyl-phenethylamine"
**{{lang|de|[[Gestapo]]}}: German {{lang|de|Geheime Staatspolizei}} ('secret state police')
**[[Radar]]: "radio detection and ranging"
**[[Lidar]]: "light detection and ranging"
*Pronounced as a combination of spelling out and a word
**[[CD-ROM]]: (''cee-dee-''{{IPAc-en|r|ɒ|m|}}) "compact disc read-only memory"
**[[IUPAC]]: (''i-u-''{{IPAc-en|p|æ|k|}} or ''i-u-pee-a-cee'') "International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry"
**[[JPEG]]: (''jay-''{{IPAc-en|p|ɛ|ɡ}} or ''jay-pee-e-gee'') "Joint Photographic Experts Group"
**[[San Francisco Museum of Modern Art|SFMOMA]]: (''ess-ef-''{{IPAc-en|ˈ|m|oʊ|m|ə}} or ''ess-ef-em-o-em-a'') "San Francisco Museum of Modern Art"
*Pronounced only as a string of letters
**[[British Broadcasting Corporation|BBC]]: "British Broadcasting Corporation"
**[[OEM]]: "original equipment manufacturer"
**[[United States|USA]]: "United States of America"
**[[VHF]]: "very high frequency"
*Pronounced as a string of letters, but with a shortcut
**AAA:
***(''Triple-A'') "[[American Automobile Association]]"; "[[abdominal aortic aneurysm]]"; "[[anti-aircraft artillery]]"; "[[Asistencia, Asesoría y Administración]]"
***(''Three-As'') "[[Amateur Athletic Association]]"
**[[Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers|IEEE]]: (''I triple-E'') "Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers"
**[[National Association for the Advancement of Colored People|NAACP]]: (''N double-A C P'' or ''N A A C P'') "National Association for the Advancement of Colored People"
**[[National Collegiate Athletic Association|NCAA]]: (''N C double-A'' or ''N C two-A'' or ''N C A A'') "National Collegiate Athletic Association"
*Shortcut incorporated into name
**[[3M]]: (''three M'') originally "Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company"
**[[W3C]]: (''W-three C'') "World Wide Web Consortium"
**[[A2DP]]: (''A-two D P'') "Advanced Audio Distribution Profile"
**[[I18N]]: (''"18" stands in for the word's middle eighteen letters, "nternationalizatio"'') "Internationalization"
**[[C4ISTAR]]: (''C-four Istar'') "Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition, and Reconnaissance"<ref>{{Cite book|last=Robinson |first=Paul |title=Dictionary of international security |publisher=Polity |year=2008 |page=31 |chapter=C4ISR |isbn=978-0-7456-4028-0 |chapter-url= https://books.google.com/books?id=oy9GzLqkMr0C&pg=PA31}}</ref>
*Mnemonic acronyms, an abbreviation that is used to remember [[phrase]]s or [[principle]]s
**[[KISS principle|KISS]] (Kiss) "Keep it simple, stupid", a design principle preferring simplicity 
**[[SMART criteria|SMART]] (Smart) "Specific, Measurable, Assignable, Realistic, Time-related", A principle of setting of goals and objectives
**[[FAST (stroke)|FAST]] (Fast) "Facial drooping, Arm weakness, Speech difficulties, Time", helps detect and enhance responsiveness to the needs of a person having a [[stroke]]
**[[Don't repeat yourself|DRY]] (Dry) "Don't repeat yourself", A principle of software development aimed at reducing repetition of software patterns
*Multi-layered acronyms
**[[AIM (software)|AIM]]: "AOL Instant Messenger", in which "[[AOL]]" originally stood for "America Online"
**[[ASEAN Free Trade Area|AFTA]]: "ASEAN Free Trade Area", where [[ASEAN]] stands for "Association of Southeast Asian Nations"
**[[NAC Breda]]: (Dutch football club) "NOAD ADVENDO Combinatie" ("NOAD ADVENDO Combination"), formed by the 1912 merger of two clubs from Breda:
***NOAD: (Dutch {{lang|nl|Nooit Opgeven Altijd Doorgaan}} 'Never give up, always persevere')
***ADVENDO: (Dutch {{lang|nl|Aangenaam Door Vermaak En Nuttig Door Ontspanning}} 'Pleasant by entertainment and useful by relaxation')<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.nac.nl/nieuws/28047/nooit-opgegeven-al-95-jaar-doorgezet.html?portal=selectie&jaar=2007&maand=9&Speler_id=&offset=20 |title=Nooit opgegeven, al 95 jaar doorgezet! |publisher=[[NAC Breda]] |date=September 19, 2007 |language=nl |quote=Precies 95 jaar terug smolten NOAD (Nooit Opgeven Altijd Doorzetten) en Advendo (Aangenaam Door Vermaak en Nuttig Door Ontspanning) samen in de NOAD-ADVENDO Combinatie, kortom NAC. |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120326035748/http://www.nac.nl/nieuws/28047/nooit-opgegeven-al-95-jaar-doorgezet.html?portal=selectie&jaar=2007&maand=9&Speler_id=&offset=20 |archive-date=March 26, 2012}}
</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url= https://www.theguardian.com/football/2005/dec/14/theknowledge.sport |title=What is the longest team name in the world? |last=Dart |first=James |date=December 14, 2005 |work=[[The Guardian]] |access-date=May 19, 2009 |location=London |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130930195004/http://www.theguardian.com/football/2005/dec/14/theknowledge.sport |archive-date=September 30, 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref>
**[[GIMP]]: "[[GNU]] image manipulation program"
*[[Recursive acronyms]], in which the abbreviation [[Self-reference|refers to itself]]
**[[GNU]]: "GNU's not Unix!"<!-- Don't remove the apostrophe. It's a contraction for "GNU is", rather than the pluralization of "GNU"-->
**[[Wine (software)|Wine]]: "Wine is not an emulator" (originally, "Windows emulator")
**These may go through multiple layers before the self-reference is found:
***[[GNU Hurd|HURD]]: "HIRD of Unix-replacing daemons", where "HIRD" stands for "HURD of interfaces representing depth"
*Pseudo-acronyms, which consist of a sequence of characters that, when pronounced as intended, invoke other, longer words with less typing<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.hsdl.org/?view&did=6791 |title=Acronyms (and other forms of abbreviation) |publisher=[[US Department of Homeland Security]] |date=November 12, 2008 |access-date=June 10, 2014 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140714170336/http://www.hsdl.org/?view&did=6791 |archive-date=July 14, 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref> This makes them [[gramogram]]s.
**[[CQ (call)|CQ]]: ''cee-cue'' for "seek you", a code used by radio operators
**[[IOU (debt)|IOU]]: ''i-o-u'' for "I owe you"
**[[Police dog|K9]]: ''kay-nine'' for "canine", used to designate police units using dogs
*Abbreviations whose last abbreviated word is often [[RAS Syndrome|redundantly included]] anyway
**[[Automated teller machine|ATM]] machine: "automated teller machine" (machine)
**[[Human immunodeficiency virus|HIV]] virus: "human immunodeficiency virus" (virus)
**[[Liquid-crystal display|LCD]] display: "liquid-crystal display" (display)
**[[Personal identification number|PIN]] number: "personal identification number" (number)
*Pronounced as a word, containing letters as a word in itself
**[[Pay as you go (disambiguation)|PAYGO]]: "pay-as-you-go"