BAC
Abbreviation with 4 meanings
| Stands for | Blood alcohol concentration |
|---|---|
| Meanings | 4 |
| Categories | Government & Politics, Science & Engineering, Education & Academia, Business & Finance |
| Also written | Bac |
BAC has four meanings. The most common are Blood alcohol concentration (police) and Bacterial artificial chromosome (genetics); it can also stand for Baccalauréat and Budget at completion.
Meanings of BAC at a glance
| # | BAC stands for | Context |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Blood alcohol concentration | Government & Politics › Police |
| 2 | Bacterial artificial chromosome | Science & Engineering › Genetics |
| 3 | Baccalauréat | Education & Academia › Standardized Test |
| 4 | Budget at completion | Business & Finance › Project Management |
1. Blood alcohol concentration
Government & Politics · Police Abbreviations
Amount of alcohol in a person's blood, expressed in the US as grams per 100 milliliters, so 0.08 percent is the legal driving limit in most states. BAC can be measured by blood test or estimated from breath.
Example: His BAC was 0.16, twice the legal limit, two hours after the crash.
Also called blood alcohol content. Breath testing machines convert breath alcohol into an estimated BAC. England, Wales and Northern Ireland use a limit of 80 milligrams per 100 milliliters of blood, while Scotland lowered its limit to 50 in 2014. Factors such as body weight, sex, food and drinking speed affect BAC, but time is the only way to lower it.
2. Bacterial artificial chromosome
Science & Engineering · Genetics Abbreviations
Engineered DNA vector based on the F plasmid of E. coli that can carry inserts of about 150,000 to 350,000 base pairs and replicate stably in bacteria. BACs were the main cloning tool for sequencing the human genome and are still used to build transgenic animals.
Example: The transgene was built in a BAC so that its native regulatory regions were included.
Hiroaki Shizuya and Melvin Simon at Caltech developed BACs in 1992. They replaced yeast artificial chromosomes for large-scale mapping because their inserts are more stable. BAC libraries tile overlapping fragments across a genome.
3. Baccalauréat (Bac)
Education & Academia · Standardized Test Abbreviations
French national exam and diploma completing upper secondary school (lycée), usually taken at about age 18 and granting the right to enter university. Since a 2021 reform, the general bac combines continuous assessment with exams in two specialty subjects, philosophy and a final oral called the Grand Oral.
Example: She passed her bac with "mention très bien" and enrolled in a classe préparatoire in Paris.
The baccalauréat dates to 1808 under Napoleon. There are general, technological and vocational ("bac pro") tracks. "Mention très bien" requires an average of at least 16 out of 20. Not to be confused with the International Baccalaureate (IB).
4. Budget at completion
Business & Finance · Project Management Abbreviations
Total approved budget for all the work in a project or control account, the sum of all planned value, used as the reference for forecasts.
Example: The BAC is $1.2 million, excluding management reserve.
Management reserve for unknown risks sits outside the BAC, while contingency for known risks is usually included.
Related abbreviations
More police abbreviations
- APB – All-points bulletin
- ASBO – Anti-social behaviour order
- ATL – Attempt to locate
- B&E – Breaking and entering
- BOLO – Be on the lookout
- BWC – Body-worn camera
- CCW – Carry concealed weapon
- CEW – Conducted electrical weapon
See all 84 police abbreviations →