35 Most Common Email Acronyms Not to Make Your Messages TLTR*
1. Acronyms for quick texting
2. Email messaging abbreviations
3. Status acronyms
4. Miscellaneous
Useful tools:
1. Newoldstamp - Email signature marketing
2. Mailchimp - Email builder and sender
3. Hubspot Email Marketing - Marketing automation platform
4. MailerLite - Landing page builder
5. Canva - Online tool for making designs
Have you ever felt like your colleagues or boss are speaking to you in a different language? And we are not talking about the situation when your team suddenly decided to conduct a meeting entirely in Spanish. We are talking about acronyms and abbreviations that are often used in a business word, especially when it comes to email communication.
*So, what is TLTR? This is a short form for “too long to read.” It can be used when someone sends a super-long email, but you are busy and want them to summarize what they need briefly.
In this article, you will find a list of the most common email acronyms along with the meanings.
Why use email acronyms
What makes people use email acronyms and abbreviations for business? First of all, they want to save time, communicate easily, and keep the email body as short as possible.
-
Saving time
In the busy schedule of business people, it makes sense to cut down the amount of time spent on composing emails.
-
Keeping email body short
With acronyms and abbreviations, you can keep an email shorter not to overwhelm the recipient.
-
Communicating easily
Using shortened forms of words and phrases can speed up and ease communication. Also, acronyms can make your tone friendlier, which might be useful at work.
The most common email acronyms for business
You can always find a more extensive list of acronyms examples on the Internet. However, even with these 35 acronyms and abbreviations, you’ll be ready enough to keep up with others.
So, here are the top 35 most common email acronyms and abbreviations you need to be aware of:
These acronyms for texting will let you write a message faster if you are in a hurry.
ASAP - As Soon As Possible. It might be useful when you want to assure the recipient that you will complete an action very soon/in time.
BTW - By The Way. This acronym is typically used after you forget to say something in a previous message.
FWIW - For What It's Worth. You can use this acronym in case you are providing someone with some information, and you are not sure if it is useful or not.
FYI - For Your Information. This one is especially handy if you want to share some helpful information with the recipient.
HTH - Hope That Helps. Choose this acronym when you send something that you think is useful or when answering someone’s question.
IDK - I Don't Know. You can often meet this abbreviation on social media and in text messages.
IMO - In My Opinion. Choose this one if you want to tell someone your opinion without sounding like a know-it-all.
LMK - Let Me Know. This is a good way to end an informal email, asking the reader to let you know what they think.
OT - Off-Topic. Use the OT acronym if you need to introduce a new thought that is not related to the main subject of the email.
TED - Tell, Explain, Describe.
TL;DR - Too Long; Didn't Read. You can often see this acronym in comments on social media. However, it can also be used in informal emails.
TYT - Take Your Time. Use this one if you want to say that the recipient can take as much time as they need because it’s not urgent.
Y/N - Yes or No? If you want to save the reader time, use Y/N. This way, you will show that it’s not necessary to respond beyond yes or no.
Read our blog post: “9 Tips to Build Performing Internal Emails.”
These abbreviations are used by email clients or can help you automate inbound correspondence.
CC/BCC - Carbon Copy/Blind Carbon Copy. These two are the ways of sending copies of an email to additional people. With CC, it is possible to see who else has received the message. And BCC does not allow to do that.
EOM - End of Message. This is one of the email subject abbreviations. Senders often use it to save recipients the trouble of opening an email unnecessarily. For example, if you want to leave the body of the email blank, you can use the EOM acronym in your subject line in the following way: “Budget meeting 02/02/2023 at 10 am (EOM).”
FWD - Forward. Most email programs use this abbreviation to indicate forwarded messages.
NRN - No Reply Necessary. If you don’t need a response, you can end your email or subject line with the NRN acronym. For instance, “Meeting changed 9 am to 11 am, NRN.”
P.S. - Postscript. Us it when you need to add extra information at the end of an email.
PRB - Please Reply By. People use it if they need the recipient to reply by a specific date and time.
SFW - Safe For Work. Used when sending something that looks or sounds bad, but it really isn’t. SFW means that the piece of information would be acceptable to view in public.
RR - Reply Requested. This one is the opposite of NRN.
IAM - In a Meeting.
LET - Leaving Early Today.
OOO - Out of Office. This phrase is often used in professional contexts to indicate that a person is unavailable for work. This acronym is especially useful if you need to let people know that they can’t expect an immediate reply from you.
PTO - Paid Time Off. This one is similar to OOO. PTO = someone isn’t working due to sick days, vacation days, personal issues, etc.
WFH - Working From Home. Use it when you need to let people know that you do your job outside of the office.
Find Out How To Increase Email Engagement: the Most Powerful Tips and Awesome Tactics
And here you get some more common acronyms.
EOD - End of Day. Use it if you are going to send something by the end of the day (or if you are asking for something to be sent to you before the day ends.)
EOW - End of Week. Similar to EOD.
ETA - Estimated Time of Arrival. Use ETA to indicate your or ask for someone’s time of arrival. For example: “What’s your ETA?”
FTE - Full-Time Employee.
MTD - Month-to-Date. Use it to mark the period starting from the beginning of the current month up until now.
YTD - Year-to-Date. Use it to mark the period starting from the beginning of the current year up until now.
PTE - Part-Time Employee.
Conclusion
Using email abbreviations and acronyms helps convey your thoughts accurately and efficiently without having to spend much time composing emails. It is important to learn what the most common acronyms and abbreviations mean to understand your partners, co-workers, boss, etc.
But be sure not to overuse them in a formal email conversation with, for example, your CEO. Also, you shouldn't use those in outbound business emails or newsletters. However, sometimes they can add up to your friendly tone.