Abbreviation
Abbreviation may refer to any of the following:
1. An abbreviation is a shortened version of a word that is pronounced as individual letters. For example,"HTML" is an abbreviation for "hypertext markup language" and is pronounced H-T-M-L and not sounded out as a word.
Grammatically incorrect abbreviations are considered chat slang, e.g., using "u" as an abbreviation for "you." Other shortened words like "LOL" and "OMG" are considered shorthand.
Abbreviation vs. an acronym
Both acronyms and abbreviations are shortened forms of another word, which makes it confusing when trying to make a distinction between the two. For example, "Dr." is an abbreviation of "Doctor" and both forms are pronounced the same way. An acronym is a shortened word created from the letters contained in multiple words or a phrase. For example, "RAM" is an acronym for "random access memory."
The biggest distinctions between an acronym and abbreviation is an acronym simplifies a long name or term and forms a new pronounceable word. An abbreviation is not pronounced as a word.
2. When writing in HTML, the <abbr> tag designates an acronym or abbreviation.