Menu Close

Acronyms and abbreviations in English.

An acronym is a word or name formed as an abbreviation from the initial components of a phrase or a word, usually individual letters. There are no universal standards for the multiple names for such abbreviations or for their orthographic styling.

# A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
There are currently 296 terms in this directory beginning with the letter P.
p.
page
p.a.
per annum (per year)
P.A.A.
Phillips Academy, Andover
P.C.
Police Constable
p.m.
post meridiem (after noon)
p.p.
per pro (used before signing in a person's absence)
P.R
Puerto Rico
p.s.
post scriptum
p.w.
per week
P/T
Pre-Tensioner
P02
Partial Pressure of Oxygen
PA
1. personal assistant.
2. Panama.
3. Perfect Attendance.
pa.t.
past tense
PABG
Pack A Big Gun
PAC
1. Public Affairs Committee.
2. Public Accounts Committee.
PACE
Property Advisers to the Civil Estate (Agency of the cabinet office)
PACT
Partnership Against Car Theft
PACTS
Parliamentary Advisory Committee for Transport Safety
PAG
Projections Advisory Group (EUETS, DTI-LED Group)
PAGA
Public Address and General Alarm
PAH
Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons
PAHO
Pan American Health Organization
PAHs
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons
Palaeogr.
in Palaeography
Palaeont. in Palaeontology; (in titles) Palaeontology, -ical pa. pple.
passive participle, past participle
PAMOC
Properties of Atoms and Molecules in Molecular Crystals
PAN
Planning Advice Note (Scotland)
PAPA
Prepare to Abandon Platform Alarm
PAR
1. PNNI augmented routing.
2. Parabolic Aluminum Reflector.
PARK
Pottstown AMATEUR RADIO KLUB
Partridge
(quoted from) E. Partridges Dictionary of Slang and
PAS
Power Assisted Steering
PAT
Professional Association of Teachers
Path.
(as label) in Pathology; (in titles) Pathology, - ical
PAVD
Physical Agents (Vibration) Directive
PAWA
Portland Amateur Wireless Association
PBA
Predictive Brake Assist
PBB
Polybrominated Biphenyl
PBC
Peak Braking Coefficient
PBD
Programmer Brain Damage
PBDE
Polybrominated Diphenylether
PBIT
Profit Before Interest and Taxation
PBK
1. Phi Beta Kappa.
2. Phonebook.
3. Pro Bike Kit.
4. Perfect Bass Kit.
5. Premier Bath and Kitchen.
PBKAC
Problem Between Keyboard and Chair
PBL
Problem-based learning
PBM
Play By Mail (Games)
PBPR
1. Palm Beach Public Relations.
2. Packed Bed Photo Reactor.
3. Patient based partner referral.
PBR
Pre-Budget Report
PBRS
Packed Bed Reactors
PBS
1. Performance Based Standards (Australia).
2. phosphate-buffered saline.
PBT
1. Polybutylene Terephthalate.
2. Persistent, Bioaccumulative or Toxic.
PC
1. Passenger Car.
2. Public Citizen (US).
3. Personal Computer.
4. Postal Code (United Kingdom).
PCB
1. Polychlorinated Biphenyl.
2. Printed Circuit Board.
3. Please Call Back.
PCD
Programmed cell death
PCFCO
Passenger Car Fuel Consumption Order
PCMB
Prokaryotic Cell and Molecular Biology
PCN
Polychlordinated Naphthalene
PCNTA
Passenger Car National Type Approval
PCR
polymerase chain reaction
PCT
Patent Cooperation Treaty
PCU
Passenger Car Unit
PCV
1. Passenger Carrying Vehicle (Not for hire organisation reward).
2. Passenger Carrying Vehicle.
3. Pedestrian Controlled Vehicle.
PCYLIH
Please Cross Your Legs, I Have Only One Nail Left
PD
1. Public Domain.
2. program director.
PDA
Public Display of Affection
PDB
Progressive Deformable Barrier
PDD
Project Definition Document.
PDE
Picture Display Equipment
PDF
Portable Document Format
PDL
Product Design Lead.
PDM
Product Data Management
PDN
Public Data Network
PDP
Positive Displacement Pump
PDQ
Pretty Damn Quick
PDT
Product Design Team.
PDU
protocol dataunit
PE
1. provider edge.
2. Peru.
3. Physical Education.
4. Preliminary Evaluation.
PEA
Phillips Exeter Academy
PEBCAK
Problem Exists Between Chair And Keyboard
PEBKAC
Problem Exists Between Keyboard And Chair
PEC
Packaging of Explosives for Carriage Regulations
PECA
Protocol (to European Agreement) on European Conformity Assessment
PEEL
Point, Example, Evidence, Link
PEFS
Process Engineering Flow Scheme
PELV
Premature End-of-Life Vehicle
PEM
1. Polymer Electrolyte Membrane.
2. Photo electron microscope.
PEMFC
Proton Exchange Membrance Fuel Cell
PEMS
Portable Emissions Measurement System
PEOD
Program Evaluation and Organizational Development
PEP
Pan-European Programme
perh. perhaps Pers.
Persian
PERKESO
Pertubuhan Keselamatan Sosial Malaysia
pers.
person, -al
PESG
Personal Export Sales Group
PET
Polyethylene Terephthalate
PETM
Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum
Petrogr.
in Petrography
Petrol.
(as label) in Petrology; (in titles) Petrology, - ical
Pettman
(quoted from) C. Pettmans Africanderisms
PF
French Polynesia
pf.
perfect
PF&HOM
Printed, Framed & Hanging On My Wall
PFA
Production Flow Analysis
PFC
1. Perfluorcarbon.
2. Peak Friction Coefficient.
PFCI
Pediatric Functional Capacity Index
PFI
Private Finance Initiative
PFM
Pure fucking Magic
PFY
Pimply Faced Youth
PG
1. Performance Gain.
2. Papua New Guinea.
Pg.
Portuguese
PG(W)PP
Planning Guidance (Wales): Planning Policy (published april 1999)
PGAD
Persistent Genital Arousal Disorder
PGDBM
Post Graduate Diploma in Business Management
PGDCA
Post Graduate Diploma in Computer Application
PGDE
Post Graduate Diploma in Education
PGECET
Post Graduate Engineering Common Entrance Test
PGIMER
Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research
PGP
Post-graduate program
PGS
Post-graduate Studies
PGSWM
Parlimentary Group for Sustainable Waste Management
PGY
Post Graduate Year
PH
Philippines, Republic of the
Pharm.
in Pharmacology
PHAT
Pamoja Hip Afrika Tunawakilisha
PHB
1. per-hop behavior.
2. poly-beta-hydroxybutarate.
3. Polyhydroxybutyrate.
PhD
Piled Higher and Deeper
PHI
Philippines
PHIL
Philippines
Philol.
(as label) in Philology; (in titles) Philology, - ical
Philos.
(as label) in Philosophy; (in titles) Philosophy, - ic
phonet.
phonetic, -ally
Photogr.
(as label) in Photography; (in titles) Photography, -ical
PHP
penultimate hop pop
phr.
phrase
PHVs
Private Hire Vehicles
Phys.
physical; (rarely) in Physiology
Physiol.
(as label) in Physiology; (in titles) Physiology, -ical
PI
1. Performance Indicator.
2. Project Integra (Hants Districts & Unitaries Waste Management Contract).
PIA
1. Petroleum Industry Association.
2. Personal Injury Accident.
PICNIC
Problem In Chair, Not In Computer
Pict.
(in titles) Picture, Pictorial
PID
Pelvic inflammatory disease
PIH
1. prolactin inhibiting hormone.
2. Partners in Health.
PIMO
Paper Industry Materials Organisation
PIMOT
Motor Transport Institute (Poland)
PIMP
Pee In My Pants (of tenin combination)
PINS
Personal Indentification Number String
PIRG
Public Interest Research Group
PITA
Pain In The Ass
PK
Pakistan
PKB
Pot, Kettle, Black!
PKU
Phenylketonuria
PL
Poland
pl., plur.
plural
PlantTFDB
Plant Transcription Factor Database
PLBKAC
Problem Lies Between Keyboard And Chair
PLC
1. phospholipase C
2. ( Plc ) - public limited company
PLEB
Peoples Law Enforcement Board
PLG
Private and Light Goods
PLHA
People Living with HIV/AIDS
PLM
Product Lifecycle Management
PLMKO
Please Let Me Know, Ok?
PLN
peripheral lymph nodes
PLOKTA
Press Lots Of Keys To Abort
PM
1. St. Pierre And Miquelon.
2. Program/Project Manager.
3. Parking Management.
4. Particulate Matter.
PMAC
Primary Ministers Approval Certificate
PMBI
Pardon My Butting In
PMCID
PubMed Central ID
PMETC
Pardon Me,etc.
PMF
Proton Motive Force
PMFBI
Pardon Me For Butting In
PMFBR
Pardon Me For Being Rude
PMFJI
Pardon Me For Jumping In
PMFJIH
Pardon Me For jumping In Here.
PMJI
Pardon My Jumping In
PMMA
Polymethylmethacrylate
PMP
Particulate Measurement Programme
PMR
Private Mobile Radio
PMRSA
Prince Michael Road Safety Awards
PMS
Punctuation Made Simple
PMYMHMMFSWGAD
Pardon Me, You Must Have Mistaken Me for Someone Who Gives A Damn
PN
Pitcairn
PNC
Police National Computer
PNCAP
Primary (safety) New Car Assessment Programme
PNEC
Predicted no Effect Concentration
PNGV
Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles (USA)
PNNI
Private Network-to-Network Interface
PNS
Peripheral nervous system
POC
1. Point of Connection (electricity).
2. Planning Officers Society (formerly cpos).
3. Prisoner Of Chat.
4. Peeping Other Chatters.
POD
Port/ Point of Destination
poet.
poetic, -al
POETS
Piss On Everything, Tomorrows Saturday; Piss Off Early, Tomorrow
POITS
Piss On It Tomorrows Saturday
Pol.
1. Polish.
2. (as label) in Politics; (in titles) Politics, - al.
Pol. Econ.
in Political Economy
Polit.
(in titles) Politics, -al
POM
Phase Of the Moon
POMP
Pervasive Object Model Project
POMSTER
Placing on the Market and Supervision of Transfer of Explosives Regulations
POP
Point Of Presence; Post Office Protocol
pop.
popular, -ly
POQ
1. Piss Off Quickly.
2. Per Order of Questions.
POQADC
Piss Off Quickly and Dont Come Back!
Porc.
(in titles) Porcelain
POS
Packetover (on) SONET
poss.
possessive
POSSLQ
Person of Opposite Sex Sharing Living Quarters
Pott.
(in titles) Pottery
POTW
Publicly Owned Treatment Works
POV
Point Of View
PP
Polypropylene
PPA
1. Power Purchase Agreement.
2. Pay Per Action.
PPC
1. Pakistan Penal Code.
2. Pay per click.
3. Pollution Prevention & Control Regulations.
4. Planning Policy Guidance.
5. Pollution Prevention Guidance.
PPE
Personal Protective Equipment
PPL
PeoPLe
ppl. a., pple. adj.
participial adjective
pple.
participle
PPM
1. Public Performance Measure.
2. Parts per Million.
PPN
Programmer Project Number (currently known as User ID)
PPORD
Product and Process Oriented Research and Development (Reach)
PPP
1. Petty Pet Peeve.
2. Pointto Point Protocol.
3. Public Private Partnerships.
PPPP
Previous Paragraph was Polemical Position
PPT
Powe Pallet Truck, Similar to FLT
PPTS
Prospective Piloted Transport System (Russian Federal Space Agency)
PQQ
Pre-Qualifications Questionaire
PR
1. public relations.
2. Puerto Rico.
3. Problem Report.
4. Project Request.
5. Page Rank.
6. Producer Responsibility.
Pr.
1. Provencal
2. ( pr. ) - present
pr. pple.
present participle
PRA
Petrol Retailers Association
Pract.
(in titles) Practice, -al
PRCO
Policing and Reducing Crime
PRCU
Policing and Reducing Crime Unit
PRD
Program Requirements Document.
prec.
preceding (word or article)
pred.
predicative
pref.
prefix
pref., Pref.
preface
prep.
preposition
pres.
present
PRG
Producer Responsibility Group
PRH
Prolactin releasing hormone
PRI
Prevention Routiere International
PRIA
Partial Regulatory Impact Assessment
Princ.
(in titles) Principle, -s
priv.
privative
PRN
Packaging Recovery Note (Proof of Compliance under Packaging Regs)
PRO
Producer Responsibility ObligationS (Packaging Waste) RegulationS
prob.
probably
Probl.
(in titles) Problem
Proc.
(in titles) Proceedings
pron.
pronoun
pronunc.
pronunciation
prop.
properly
Pros.
in Prosody
Prov.
Provencal
PS
1. Post Scriptum.
2. Post Script.
3. Play Station.
4. Palestine.
5. Physical Science.
6. Pull Sits.
7. Public Sewer.
8. Polystyrene.
PSA
Public Service Agreement
PSAE
1. Pittsburgh Society of Association Executives.
2. Prairie State Achievement Examination.
PSAS
Persistent Sexual Arousal Syndrome
PSB
Programme Supervisory Board
PSBRTF
Penn State Bus Research and Testing Facility
PSC
PHB scheduling class
PSDB
Police Scientific Development Branch
PSDE
Programme for the Study of Discrimination and Exclusion
PSE
Ponce, Puerto Rico Airport code. Mercedita Airport.
PSPF
Public Symphisis Peak Force
PSR
Passenger Services Requirement
PSSH
Physical Symbol System Hypothesis
PSSM
1. Position-specific scoring matrix.
2. Persatuan Sains Sosial Malaysia (Malai).
PSSRU
Personal Social Services Research Unit (UK)
PSTC
Pak Swiss Training Centre
PSTN
Public Switched Telephone (Telephony) Network
PSVAR
Public Service Vehicle Accessibility Regulations
Psych.
in Psychology
Psychol.
(as label) in Psychology; (in titles) Psychology, -ical
PT
1. Physical Training.
2. Portugal.
3. Public Transport.
PTA
Passenger Transport Authority
PTB
Powers That Be
PTE
Passenger Transport Executive
PTI
1. Pennsylvania Transport Institute.
2. Periodic Technical Inspection.
PTM
Please Tell Me
PTMM
Please Tell Me More
PTO
1. Patent and Trademark Office (USGovt).
2. Please Turn Over.
3. Permission To Officiate.
PTT
Push to Talk
PTW
Powered Two Wheeler
Publ.
(in titles) Publications
PUBS
Publications
PUOSU
Put Up Or Shut Up
PUWER
1. Provision & Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1988.
2. Proposed Provision & Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1997.
PV-UK
British Photovoltaic Association
PVC
1. Polyvinyl Chloride.
2. permanent virtual circuit.
PW
1. Pathetic Wanker.
2. Pow Wow.
3. Palau.
PWG
Pathology Working Group
PWT
Penny weight (see also dwt)
PY
Paraguay
PYLUSD
Placentia Yorba Linda Unified School Distericct

Share
Tweet