NRA
Abbreviation with 3 meanings
| Stands for | National Rifle Association |
|---|---|
| Meanings | 3 |
| Categories | Organizations & Companies, Government & Politics, Geography & Places |
NRA has three meanings. The most common are National Rifle Association (nonprofit) and National Recovery Administration (public program); it can also stand for National Recreation Area.
Meanings of NRA at a glance
| # | NRA stands for | Context |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | National Rifle Association | Organizations & Companies › Nonprofit |
| 2 | National Recovery Administration | Government & Politics › Public Program |
| 3 | National Recreation Area | Geography & Places › Geographic Feature |
1. National Rifle Association
Organizations & Companies · Nonprofit Abbreviations
US organization that promotes firearms ownership, training and marksmanship and lobbies against restrictions on gun rights through its Institute for Legislative Action.
Example: The NRA urged members to contact their senators about the proposed ban.
Union Army veterans William Conant Church and George Wingate founded it in 1871 to improve marksmanship. Its political lobbying grew from the 1970s. In 2024 a New York jury found that former chief executive Wayne LaPierre had misused funds, and the same year the Supreme Court ruled in its favor in a free speech case, NRA v. Vullo. Its membership and finances declined after 2018.
2. National Recovery Administration
Government & Politics · Public Program Abbreviations
New Deal agency created in 1933 under the National Industrial Recovery Act that set industry-wide "codes of fair competition" regulating prices, wages and hours. Businesses that cooperated displayed its Blue Eagle emblem with the slogan "We Do Our Part".
Example: A faded NRA Blue Eagle poster still hangs in the old hardware store window.
The Supreme Court struck down the law's code system in Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States (1935), the "sick chicken case", ruling that Congress had improperly delegated power. Its labor protections were partly revived in the Wagner Act and the Fair Labor Standards Act. Today NRA usually refers to the National Rifle Association.
3. National Recreation Area
Geography & Places · Geographic Feature Abbreviations
US federal designation for areas centered on outdoor recreation, often around reservoirs, such as Lake Mead NRA, designated by Congress in 1964 as the first of its kind.
Example: Boat launches at Lake Mead NRA moved as the water level dropped.
NRA far more often means the National Rifle Association. Glen Canyon NRA, home of Lake Powell, is another large example.
Related abbreviations
More nonprofit abbreviations
- NCMEC – National Center for Missing & Exploited Children
- NGO – Nongovernmental organization
- NOW – National Organization for Women
- NPO – Nonprofit organization
- NRDC – Natural Resources Defense Council
- NRLC – National Right to Life Committee
- NSPCC – National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children
- NWF – National Wildlife Federation
See all 91 nonprofit abbreviations →