Sports Abbreviations

452 abbreviations in 9 subcategories

Leagues, governing bodies, player positions and statistics across American football, basketball, baseball, hockey, soccer, golf, tennis, combat sports and motorsport. Statistic abbreviations such as RBI, ERA or PPG appear in every box score.

• Baseball
• American Football
• Sports League and Organization
• Other Sports
• Basketball
• Soccer (Association Football)
• Sports Governing Body
• Ice Hockey
• Fitness and Exercise

Baseball Abbreviations

Baseball is the most statistic-heavy of the major sports, and its box scores, scorecards and transaction wires are written almost entirely in abbreviations. This list covers batting, pitching and fielding statistics from RBI and ERA to sabermetric measures such as OPS, FIP and WAR, plus positions, roster moves, postseason rounds and league structure. Many of the traditional abbreviations date back to nineteenth-century box scores designed by writer Henry Chadwick.

All 83 baseball abbreviations →

American Football Abbreviations

Abbreviations for positions, statistics, scoring plays, penalties, roster designations, awards and league structure in American football at the NFL and college levels. They appear on depth charts, box scores, injury reports, broadcast graphics and fantasy football apps. Where the same letters mean something different in soccer, baseball or other sports, the entry points out the difference.

All 80 American football abbreviations →

Sports League and Organization Abbreviations

Professional leagues, college athletic associations, tours and promotions are referred to almost exclusively by their initials in headlines, box scores and broadcasts. This list covers the major North American leagues (NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, MLS), women's leagues, college conferences and divisions, golf and tennis tours, combat-sports promotions, motorsport series and leading leagues abroad. Each entry gives the full name, when the organization was founded and how it differs from similarly named bodies.

All 63 sports league and organization abbreviations →

Other Sports Abbreviations

Abbreviations from individual and international sports: running and track and field, golf, tennis, boxing and mixed martial arts, motorsport, cycling, swimming, cricket and rugby, plus the result codes and betting terms used across many sports. Results tables use short codes such as DNF, DQ and PB to explain how an athlete finished, while combat-sports records list how each fight ended (KO, TKO, UD). Where the same letters mean something else in team sports, the entry notes the difference.

All 63 other sports abbreviations →

Basketball Abbreviations

Positions, box-score statistics, shooting splits, advanced metrics, injury designations and season awards used in the NBA, WNBA, college and international basketball. Box scores compress a game into columns such as PTS, REB, AST and FG%, while analytics sites add rate stats like TS% and PER. Cross-sport awards such as MVP and Rookie of the Year are explained here with their equivalents in other leagues.

All 52 basketball abbreviations →

Soccer (Association Football) Abbreviations

Abbreviations used in soccer (association football) for player positions, match results, statistics, officiating technology, club competitions and finances. Many position labels such as CDM and CAM were popularized by video games and lineup graphics, while results tables use FT, HT and AET to show how a match ended. Governing bodies and leagues such as FIFA, UEFA and MLS are covered in the sports league list.

All 46 soccer (Association football) abbreviations →

Sports Governing Body Abbreviations

International federations, continental confederations, national Olympic committees, anti-doping agencies and sanctioning bodies write the rules, ratify records and organize world championships in their sports. Many are known by French initials because they were founded in Paris or Switzerland, which is why FIFA, FIBA and FIDE do not match their English names. Entries give the full original name, the English translation where relevant, the founding date and headquarters, and the competitions each body runs.

All 37 sports governing body abbreviations →

Ice Hockey Abbreviations

Positions, scoring and goaltending statistics, special-teams situations, standings columns, analytics terms and contract language used in the NHL and other ice hockey leagues. Hockey box scores list goals, assists and points for skaters and GAA and SV% for goaltenders, while standings track overtime losses separately. Several entries, such as OT and GP, are explained here for all sports.

All 36 ice hockey abbreviations →

Fitness and Exercise Abbreviations

Abbreviations used in gyms, training programs, fitness apps and nutrition plans: workout formats such as HIIT, AMRAP and EMOM, strength-training terms such as 1RM and RPE, equipment shorthand, and energy-balance measures such as BMR and TDEE. They appear in workout logs, CrossFit whiteboards, coaching templates and wearable dashboards. Medical terms are explained only in their fitness sense; health concerns should be discussed with a qualified professional.

All 35 fitness and exercise abbreviations →

Edited by the AbbreviationList.com team. Spotted an error or a missing meaning? Contact us.