Acronyms and Abbreviations
Here is a glossary of acronyms and abbreviations commonly used in Star Trek on screen and in fandom. For more about official "technical" acronyms like "LCARS", please refer to the Treknology Encyclopedia.
0-9
3DG 3D Gladiators - website
A
ACB Annular confinement beam - part of the transporter principle
AGT "All Good Things" - TNG episode
ASDB Advanced Starship Design Bureau - branch of Starfleet and website
ASRV Autonomous survival and recovery vehicle - type of lifeboats
AU Alternate Universe - particularly the "Abramsverse" (officially: Kelvin Timeline)
B
B&B Berman & Braga - Voyager and Enterprise producers
BC Bridge Commander - game
BF Bravo Fleet - website
Big E Enterprise (any of them) - (star)ship
BoBW "(The) Best of Both Worlds" - TNG episode
BoP Bird-of-Prey - name of Romulan and Klingon starships
BotF Birth of the Federation - game
C
CG Computer-generated
CMO Chief medical officer
CO Commanding officer
Connie Constitution class - starship
D
Deffie Defiant - starship
DF Delta Flyer - starship
DITL Daystrom Institute Technical Library - website
DMA Dark matter anomaly - in Discovery season 4
DMZ Demilitarized Zone - between Cardassian and Federation Space
DSC Star Trek Discovery - series (used in official sources)
DIS Star Trek Discovery - series (used at EAS and Memory Alpha)
DS9 Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
DS9TM Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Technical Manual - reference book
DSN Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (uncommon)
E
E-nil USS Enterprise NCC-1701
E-A, etc. USS Enterprise NCC-1701-A, etc.
EAS Ex Astris Scientia - website
ECA Earth Cargo Authority (22nd century)
ECH Emergency command hologram
ECS Earth Cargo Ship (22nd century)
EF Elite Force - computer game
EMH Emergency medical hologram
EM Electromagnetic
ENT Enterprise - series
EPS Electroplasma system - power distribution network used aboard Federation starships
ETA Estimated time of arrival
EU Expanded Universe
EVA Extravehicular activity
F
FASA Role playing game
FC "Star Trek: First Contact" - movie
FCA Ferengi Commerce Authority
FED United Federation of Planets
FF The Official Star Trek Fact Files - magazine series
FJ Franz Joseph Schnaubelt - author of the STTM
FSD Federation Starship Datalink - website
FSNP "Famous Spock Nerve Pinch" - acronym used in TOS scripts
FTL Faster than light
G
GCS Galaxy class - starship
GEN "Star Trek: Generations" - movie
GNDN "Goes nowhere, does nothing." - label on pipes on the original Enterprise
GR Gene Roddenberry - Star Trek creator
H
HD High definition
I
IaMD "In a Mirror, Darkly" - ENT double feature
IDF Inertial damping field - forcefield especially designed to compensate for acceleration forces within a starship
IDIC Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations - principle of Vulcan philosophy
IKC Imperial Klingon Cruiser
IKS Imperial Klingon Ship
INS "Star Trek: Insurrection" - movie
ISS Imperial Star Ship (presumably) - ship of the Terran Empire of the Mirror Universe
J
JJ Jeffrey Jacob (Abrams), "Star Trek (2009)" producer and director, also in terms such as "JJTrek" or "JJVerse"
JL Jean-Luc
JLP Jean-Luc Picard
JoAT Journal of Applied Treknology - website
JTK James Tiberius Kirk
K
K/S Kirk/Spock - slash fiction jargon, analogously for nearly every combination of two characters
KT Kelvin Timeline - the timeline that unfolds in "Star Trek (2009)"
L
LCARS Library computer access and retrieval system - user interface of 24th century computer systems
LD Star Trek: Lower Decks - series (used at Memory Alpha)
LDS Star Trek: Lower Decks - series (used in official sources)
LDS substance that Kirk muses Spock has taken too much of ("Star Trek IV")
LLAP "Live long and prosper." - Vulcan greeting
LOW Star Trek: Lower Decks - series (used at EAS)
LUG Last Unicorn Games - role playing games
ly Light year
M
M/ARA Matter/antimatter reaction assembly - power generation system of Federation starships
M/ARC Matter/antimatter reaction chamber - warp core
MACO Military Assault Command Operations in Star Trek Enterprise (is not meant to stand for MArine COrps)
MLS Medical Log Supplemental - former website
MSD Master systems display - designation often used for a ship's cross-section
MU Mirror Universe - from TOS: "Mirror, Mirror" and subsequent episodes
MWI Many-worlds interpretation - Bob Orci's explanation for the existence of a parallel alternate timeline since "Star Trek (2009)"
N
NCC Starfleet ship name prefix, active service (any specific meaning ascribed to it is completely conjectural)
NCO Non-commissioned officer
NEM "Star Trek Nemesis" - movie
NX Starfleet ship name prefix, experimental
NX class of Enterprise NX-01 (evidently not related to "experimental" registry)
NZ Neutral Zone - between Romulan and Federation Space
O
ODN Optical data network - system of fiber-optics used in 24th century computer systems
P
PADD Personal access display device - hand-held access terminal to a computer system
Phaser Phased energy rectification - energy discharge weapon used by the Federation
PIC Star Trek: Picard - series
PRO Star Trek: Prodigy - series
PTC Power transfer conduit - plasma conduit from the warp core to the nacelles
PU Prime Universe, as opposed to the Kelvin Timeline
PWB Praetorian Warbird (presumably)
Q
Q-torp Quantum torpedo
QSS Quantum slipstream - advanced FTL propulsion technology
R
RF Radio frequency
RCS Reaction control system - maneuvering thrusters
RSE Romulan Star Empire
S
S31 "Section 31" - TV movie (2025)
SCN Subspace Comms Network - former discussion forum
SD Standard definition
SF Starfleet, Star Fleet
SFA Starfleet Academy - TV series (2026)
SFC Starfleet Command - game
SFM The Starfleet Museum - website
SHO Short Treks (used at EAS)
SIF Structural integrity field - system of forcefields to counterbalance acceleration forces and gravitational forces
SNW Star Trek: Strange New Worlds - series
SofA "Sacrifice of Angels" - DS9 episode
S.S. Star Ship
SSD Starship Schematic Database - website
ST Star Trek
ST Short Treks (used at Memory Alpha)
ST09 "Star Trek (2009)" - movie (officially and inaccurately just "Star Trek")
STB "Star Trek: Beyond" - movie
STD Star Trek Discovery (used in fandom)
STG "Star Trek: Generations" - movie
STI "Star Trek: Insurrection" - movie
STID "Star Trek Into Darkness" - movie
STinSV Star Trek in Sound and Vision - former website
STL Slower than light
STM Star Trek: The Magazine - magazine series
STN "Star Trek Nemesis" - movie
STO Star Trek Online - Star Trek MMORPG
STP Star Trek Picard (used in fandom)
STTM Star Trek Technical Manual - reference book (1975)
STXI "Star Trek (2009)" - movie (2009)
T
TAS Star Trek: The Animated Series
TATV "These Are The Voyages" - ENT finale / TNG crossover
TFatGR "Treachery, Faith, and the Great River" - DS9 episode
TFF "Star Trek: The Final Frontier" - movie
TMP "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" - movie
TNG Star Trek: The Next Generation - series
TNG-R TNG Remastered - HD version of TNG (from 2012)
TNGTM Star Trek: The Next Generation Technical Manual - reference book
TOS Star Trek (The Original Series)
TOS "Those Old Scientists" (LOW: "No Small Parts", SNW: "Those Old Scientists")
TOS-R Star Trek Remastered - CG-enhanced HD version of TOS (2006-2008)
TotP "Tears of the Prophets" - DS9 episode
TPTB The Powers That Be - namely Paramount and/or CBS
TSFS "Star Trek: The Search for Spock" - movie
TUC "Star Trek: The Undiscovered Country" - movie
TVH "Star Trek: The Voyage Home" - movie
TWoK "Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan" - movie
TYoH "The Year of Hell" - VOY episode
U
UESPA United Earth Space Probe Agency - precursor of Starfleet
UFP United Federation of Planets
UP Utopia Planitia - shipyards and former website
USS United Star Ship
V
VFX Visual effects
VGR Star Trek: Voyager (used in the Star Trek Encyclopedias)
VISOR Visual instrument and sensory organ replacement - device used by Lt. Cmdr. Geordi La Forge until 2373 to overcome his blindness
VOY Star Trek: Voyager - series (used at EAS, Memory Alpha and startrek.com)
W
WF Warp factor - FTL speed measurement unit
WoTW "The Way of the Warrior" - DS9 episode
WWKD "What would Kirk do?" - slogan used by fans, especially when they see problems with the newer incarnations (obsolete)
WYLB "What You Leave Behind" - DS9 episode
X
XO Executive officer
Y
YATI Yet Another Trek Inconsistency - common acronym of the newsgroup era (obsolete)
Z
ZPE Zero-point energy - energy released in quantum torpedoes
See Also
Production Timeline - illustrated and clickable timeline from 1964 to today
Titles and Abbreviations of Star Trek Series and Movies - guide to naming and abbreviation conventions
