30 Most Commonly Used Email Abbreviations and Acronyms in 2024

So, a few days back, one of my team members sent me an email with the subject line. “Need your reviews on the latest marketing report. VSRE”

So, I didn’t pay much attention to the abbreviation, wrote a long review, and ended the email by asking her, “What does VSRE mean anyway?”

Her response was: “Very short reply expected.” 😃

Oops! I felt so embarrassed doing exactly the opposite.

To avoid going through such embarrassment again, I compiled all the frequently used email abbreviations and acronyms. And if you have gone through something similar, you will know what exactly I mean.

So in this guide, you will find every email abbreviation you should know of.

Table of contents

• 30 common email abbreviations you should know

  • 1. AB - Action by
  • 2. AR - Action required
  • 3. BCC and CC - Blind carbon copy and Carbon copy
  • 4. EOD - End of day
  • 5. EOM - End of message
  • 6. EOW - End of week
  • 7. FYI - For your information
  • 8. FYG - For your guidance
  • 9. FYR - For your reference
  • 10. FAO - For the attention of
  • 11. IAM - In a meeting
  • 12. LET - Leaving early today
  • 13. NYR - Need your response
  • 14. NYRQ - Need your response quick
  • 15. NYRT - Need your response today
  • 16. NYR-NBD - Need your response - Next business day
  • 17. NWS - Not work-safe or Not work-suitable
  • 18. NWR - Not work-related
  • 19. NT or N/T - No text
  • 20. NNTR - No need to respond
  • 21. OOO - Out of office
  • 22. PFA - Please find the attachment
  • 23. PS - Post scriptum
  • 24. PRB - Please reply by
  • 25. RR - Reply requested or Reply required
  • 26. TSFW - Technically safe for work or Totally safe for work
  • 27. TBF - To be forwarded
  • 28. TL;DR - Too long; Didn’t read
  • 29. VSRE - Very short reply expected
  • 30. Y/N - Yes or No

• Conclusion

30 common email abbreviations you should know

Here is a list of email abbreviations and acronyms that you can use in your emails:

1. AB - Action by

Used with a timeline to notify the recipient that the sender needs a task completed within a specific deadline. It's essential when you create timelines to ensure clarity and precision.

For example, Here is the SEO report. AB+2. Here, it will mean that action is needed within two days.

2. AR - Action required

Used to inform the recipient that they are given a task.

3. BCC and CC - Blind carbon copy and Carbon copy

You can see both these acronyms in your email program. You use them when you want to send a message to the main addressee and other interested parties.

The email address in the CC field will be visible to every recipient of the email, but those in BCC will not be.

So, if you don't want everyone to see all of the recipients of a message, you would enter their email addresses in the BCC field.

4. EOD - End of day

It is used when you want to send or receive something by the end of the day.

5. EOM - End of message

Used in email subject line, informing the recipient that entire content is in the subject line. So, the recipient doesn’t need to open the email, thus saving their time.

6. EOW - End of week

It is used when you want to send or receive something by the end of the week. In business emails, EOW refers to Friday.

7. FYI - For your information

When you want to share some helpful information that you think the recipient might now know of, you can use this acronym.

8. FYG - For your guidance

Used at the beginning of the subject line, commonly in business emails where the sender sends important information to the recipient to help them with their work.

9. FYR - For your reference

This is typically used in the subject line to send follow-up information about something the recipients already know.

10. FAO - For the attention of

When you need a specific person to read or take action mentioned in the email, you can use FAO in the email subject line.

For example, Subject line: FAO - John, content team Please send the content style guide by 2 p.m.

11. IAM - In a meeting

It is used informally to tell the recipient that the sender is in a meeting.

12. LET - Leaving early today

This abbreviation is used commonly in group emails to inform others that you are leaving early, so they don’t ping you later if they need anything.

13. NYR - Need your response

Used in the subject line to tell the recipient that you require a response from them.

14. NYRQ - Need your response quick

Used in the subject line to tell the recipient that you require a quick response.

15. NYRT - Need your response today

Used in the subject line to tell the recipient that you require a response within the working day.

16. NYR-NBD - Need your response - Next business day

You can use this abbreviation to tell the recipient that a reply is required for the email before the next working day. NYR-NBD can be written either in the subject line or email copy.

17. NWS - Not work-safe or Not work-suitable

Used in email subject line to urge the viewer to use discretion or avoid the email in a professional or public setting. The email may be sexually explicit or profane, making it inappropriate to view, among others.

18. NWR - Not work-related

Used in business emails to indicate that the content is not related to business, the recipient can ignore it if desired.

19. NT or N/T - No text

Used when the email content is contained in the subject line and the email body remains empty. This saves the recipient time because they do not have to open the email.

20. NNTR - No need to respond

Used to inform the recipient that they don’t need to reply to the email, which reduces email clutter from replies like “okay, great.”

21. OOO - Out of office

OOO is the standard acronym to tell the recipient that you are out of office. You can also set up email autoresponders to let people know you are not in the office or not available.

22. PFA - Please find the attachment

When you send documents or a set of documents in the email, you should mention PFA to inform the recipient about the documents.

23. PS - Post scriptum

Post scriptum is used as an afterthought that you might have when you finish writing the email. The term comes from the Latin post scriptum, meaning “written after.” You can also use PS to write some thoughts that you forget to mention before signing the email.

24. PRB - Please reply by

You can use this abbreviation when you need a reply by a specific date and time.

25. RR - Reply requested or Reply required

You can use this abbreviation to tell the recipient to reply to this email.

26. TSFW - Technically safe for work or Totally safe for work

This acronym indicates that an email is completely fine to view at work because the email content is suitable for the viewer.

27. TBF - To be forwarded

Used to request that the email recipient forwards the email to another person.

28. TL;DR - Too long; Didn’t read

Used when you send a long email but don’t want the reader to go through the whole email. So, you can summarize the main points labeling it TL;DR.

29. VSRE - Very short reply expected

Used to inform the recipient that a short reply is expected.

30. Y/N - Yes or No

Use this abbreviation when you need a yes or no response. It saves the recipient time and reduces the chances of getting more responses.

Conclusion

As we reach the EOM, we hope you got email abbreviations and acronyms that will help keep the email concise and save time for the recipients.

So, next time you want to inform your colleagues that you are out of the office, just right OOO. Hopefully, they get it. 😅