USA

Abbreviation with 2 meanings

USA
Stands forUnited States of America
Meanings2
CategoriesGeography & Places, Military

USA has two meanings. It stands for United States of America (country name) or United States Army (military unit and organization).

Meanings of USA at a glance

#USA stands forContext
1United States of AmericaGeography & Places › Country Name
2United States ArmyMilitary › Military Unit and Organization

1. United States of America

Geography & Places · Country Name Abbreviations

Full official name of the United States, shortened to USA on passports, in sports (Team USA) and in international addresses, where USA is the expected last line. It is also the ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 code and the country code used by the IOC and FIFA.

Example: Ship to: 1200 Main St, Springfield, OR 97477, USA

The name United States of America appears in the Declaration of Independence (1776) and the Articles of Confederation. U.S.A. with periods is now old-fashioned; most style guides prefer U.S. or US for the short form and reserve USA for addresses, sports and branding. Machine-readable passports and visas use USA as the nationality code for American citizens.

2. United States Army

Military · Military Unit and Organization Abbreviations

Oldest and largest branch of the US armed forces, responsible for land warfare. In military writing USA follows an officer's name to show service, as in "Gen. Jane Doe, USA," while in general English it far more often means the United States of America.

Example: Lt. Gen. Marcus Hill, USA (Ret.), will deliver the commencement address.

The Continental Army was established by the Continental Congress on June 14, 1775, celebrated as the Army's birthday. The Army now prefers "U.S. Army" in running text to avoid confusion with the country. Its reserve components are the Army National Guard (ARNG) and the Army Reserve (USAR).

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More military unit and organization abbreviations

  • TACP – Tactical Air Control Party
  • TRADOC – US Army Training and Doctrine Command
  • TRANSCOM – United States Transportation Command
  • Trp – Troop
  • USAF – United States Air Force
  • USAFA – United States Air Force Academy
  • USAFE – United States Air Forces in Europe
  • USAR – United States Army Reserve

See all 126 military unit and organization abbreviations →

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