Author Description

Compiled from the resources of the Oxford English Dictionary and a wide range of newspapers and journals, this is the most up-to-date and comprehensive guide to abbreviations available in paperback. Covering all the most important business, scientific, and technical abbreviations, as well as those in everyday use, the dictionary has over 19,000 entries, and includes acronyms (ROM, NATO), initialisms (OED, CFC), shortenings (Sun. for Sunday), symbols and signs (e.g. K, HZ, and A4), and hybrid forms (A-bomb). Coverage is also international in scope, and graphic symbols such as proofreading marks, hallmarks, music, science, and weather symbols are all given in a series of appendices. Anyone who reads or writes current English will find this accessible reference useful, but it will be indispensable to professionals, businesses, technical writers, and journalists.