Definition of backronym

backronym

noun

a word that has come to be an acronym (or is viewed by some as an acronym) when it was not originally an acronym.

Slang examples include "SHIT" meaning "ship high in transit", "PHAT" meaning "pretty hot and tempting", etc.

"Backronym" is itself an acronym, being "back" + "acronym".
- See more words with the same meaning: acronyms (list of).
- See more words with the same meaning: computer slang.
Last edited on Feb 11 2013. Submitted by WalterGR (via TheJargonFile) on Aug 14 2009.

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Related words

Slang terms with the same meaning

Other terms relating to 'acronyms (list of)':
WTF	Definitions include: acronym for "what the fuck?".
ELI5	Definitions include: acronym for "explain like I'm 5".
j00	Definitions include: "you".
PTO	Definitions include: acronym for "Paid Time Off."
TYVM	Definitions include: acronym for "thank you very much".
SCOTUS	Definitions include: acronym for "Supreme Court of the United States".
CI	Definitions include: "confidential informant".
BBC	Definitions include: acronym for "big black cock".
GL	Definitions include: acronym for "good luck".
ROFLMAO	Definitions include: acronym for "rolling on floor laughing my ass off".
DINO	Definitions include: acronym for "Democrat in Name Only."
POA	Definitions include: acronym for "piece of ass".
A/S/L/R	Definitions include: see ASLR.
DL, the	Definitions include: See on the DL.
BOGOF	Definitions include: acronym for "buy one get one free".
(show 716 more)
Other terms relating to 'computer slang':
WBU	Definitions include: "what about you".
BOFH	Definitions include: acronym for "bastard operator from hell".
OT	Definitions include: acronym for "off-topic".
bb	Definitions include: abbreviated form of "baby".
BBL	Definitions include: acronym for "be back later".
tl;dr	Definitions include: acronym for "too long; didn't read."
NM	Definitions include: "nothing much".
Big Room, the	Definitions include: outdoors.
TTYT	Definitions include: acronym for "talk to you tomorrow".
loal	Definitions include: used to indicate laughter in text-based communication.
Easter egg	Definitions include: Speculation about the origin of the term includes the custom of the Easter Egg hunt observed in the U.S. and many parts of Europe, as well Faberge' eggs containing hidden objects.
'puter	Definitions include: "computer."
meme	Definitions include: something that spreads through the internet in the same way that a virus spreads between organisms.
bondage and discipline language	Definitions include: a programming language with strict, static typing.
special-case	Definitions include: in computing, to solve a problem or a bug by detecting for and addressing the specific circumstances that lead to it, rather than writing a more general solution.
(show 587 more)

Slang terms with the same root words

Other terms relating to 'acronym':
TLA	Definitions include: acronym for "three-letter acronym".
Other terms relating to 'back':
back	Definitions include: large buttocks.
back 40	Definitions include: wild or rough terrain adjacent to a developed area.
*back sswards**	Definitions include: done or performed incorrectly, strangely, opposite from the correct way, or clumsily; "backwards".
back at the ranch	Definitions include: exclamation useful when the conversation is going off tangent.
back at you	Definitions include: and the same to you.
back-catalog	Definitions include: obscure.
back-catalogue	Definitions include: obscure.
back door	Definitions include: the anus.
back door man	Definitions include: the man who a cheating spouse sees on the side.
back-door trots, the	Definitions include: horrendous diarrhea.
back end	Definitions include: the anus.
back forty	Definitions include: a place that is far away.
back in the day	Definitions include: at some time before the present.
back in the saddle	Definitions include: having resumed an activity that one had previously stopped performing.
back off	Definitions include: large buttocks.
(show 71 more hide)