Word Reduced to Letters — Uppercase, No Periods, No Spaces
Abbreviations
Rulebase Summary
When a word is reduced to its letters as an abbreviation, use uppercase letters with no periods and no spaces. If the abbreviation is used as a verb, use an apostrophe before the suffix: -'d for past tense, -'s for present tense, and -'ing for the participle form.
BGGP Abbreviation.17 · p.244
Examples
✗
A. He I.D.'s all patients before surgery.
✓
A. He ID's all patients before surgery.
No periods when a word is reduced to letters; apostrophe before verb suffix.
✗
A. The suspect O.D.'d on the substance.
✓
A. The suspect OD'd on the substance.
Apostrophe -'d for past tense of abbreviation used as verb.
Style Guide References (1)
BGGP
Abbreviation.17
Page 244
See also (7)
Same topic Apostrophe Before Suffix for Verb Forms Same topic No Spaces Between Letters of an Abbreviation (Except Name Initials) Related Capitalization of Abbreviations and Acronyms Same topic Abbreviations That Do Not Take Periods Related Apostrophe for Omission and Contractions Related Apostrophe With Plural of Numbers and Capitalized Abbreviations Compare Periods and Lowercase for i.e. and e.g.