HTML <acronym> Tag
Example
An acronym is marked up as follows:
| Can I get this <acronym title="as soon as possible">ASAP</acronym>? |
Try it yourself » |
Definition and Usage
The <acronym> tag defines an acronym.
An acronym can be spoken as if it were a word, example NATO, NASA, ASAP, GUI.
By marking up acronyms you can give useful information to browsers, spellcheckers, screen readers, translation systems and search-engines.
Browser Support

The <acronym> tag is supported in all major browsers.
Note: The <acronym> tag is not supported in IE 5.5 or earlier versions.
Differences Between HTML and XHTML
NONE
Tips and Notes
Tip: The title attribute is used to show the full version of the expression when you mouse over the abbreviation.
Standard Attributes
The <acronym> tag supports the following standard attributes:
| Attribute |
Value |
Description |
DTD |
| class |
classname |
Specifies a classname for an element |
STF |
| dir |
rtl
ltr |
Specifies the text direction
for the content in an element |
STF |
| id |
id |
Specifies a unique id for an element |
STF |
| lang |
language_code |
Specifies a language code for the content in an element |
STF |
| style |
style_definition |
Specifies an inline style for an element |
STF |
| title |
text |
Specifies extra information about an element |
STF |
| xml:lang |
language_code |
Specifies a language code for the content in an element, in
XHTML documents |
STF |
More information about Standard Attributes.
Event Attributes
The <acronym> tag supports the following event attributes:
| Attribute |
Value |
Description |
DTD |
| onclick |
script |
Script to be run on a mouse click |
STF |
| ondblclick |
script |
Script to be run on a mouse double-click |
STF |
| onmousedown |
script |
Script to be run when mouse button is pressed |
STF |
| onmousemove |
script |
Script to be run when mouse pointer moves |
STF |
| onmouseout |
script |
Script to be run when mouse pointer moves out of an
element |
STF |
| onmouseover |
script |
Script to be run when mouse pointer moves over an
element |
STF |
| onmouseup |
script |
Script to be run when mouse button is released |
STF |
| onkeydown |
script |
Script to be run when a key is pressed |
STF |
| onkeypress |
script |
Script to be run when a key is pressed and released |
STF |
| onkeyup |
script |
Script to be run when a key is released |
STF |
More information about Event Attributes.

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