DWI
Abbreviation with 2 meanings
| Stands for | Driving while intoxicated |
|---|---|
| Meanings | 2 |
| Categories | Government & Politics, Medical |
DWI has two meanings. It stands for Driving while intoxicated (police) or Diffusion-weighted imaging (medical imaging).
Meanings of DWI at a glance
| # | DWI stands for | Context |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Driving while intoxicated | Government & Politics › Police |
| 2 | Diffusion-weighted imaging | Medical › Medical Imaging |
1. Driving while intoxicated
Government & Politics · Police Abbreviations
Name used for the drunk or drugged driving offense in states including Texas, New York, New Jersey, Missouri and North Carolina, covering driving with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08 percent or more or while impaired by substances.
Example: A first DWI in Texas can bring up to 180 days in jail and a license suspension of up to a year.
In some states DWI is expanded as "driving while impaired." New York distinguishes DWI from the lesser offense of DWAI (driving while ability impaired). Whether a state says DUI or DWI usually reflects statutory wording rather than any difference in the conduct. Criminal defense lawyers often market themselves as "DWI attorneys" in DWI states and "DUI attorneys" elsewhere. Commercial drivers face a 0.04 percent limit, and drivers under 21 face near-zero limits in all states.
2. Diffusion-weighted imaging
Medical · Medical Imaging Abbreviations
MRI sequence sensitive to the random movement of water molecules, which becomes restricted in acutely injured brain tissue. It shows an ischemic stroke as a bright area within minutes, long before CT changes appear, and also helps characterize abscesses and highly cellular tumors elsewhere in the body.
Example: DWI bright, ADC dark in the left insula: acute infarct.
DWI is always read with the ADC map to confirm true restriction. A positive DWI with a still-normal FLAIR image suggests a stroke began within roughly 4.5 hours, a mismatch the 2018 WAKE-UP trial used to select patients with unknown onset time for thrombolysis. Outside medicine, DWI usually means driving while intoxicated.
Related abbreviations
More police abbreviations
- DRE – Drug recognition expert
- DS – Detective Sergeant
- DUI – Driving under the influence
- DV – Domestic violence
- DWLS – Driving while license suspended
- EDP – Emotionally disturbed person
- FTA – Failure to appear
- FTO – Field training officer
See all 84 police abbreviations →
More medical imaging abbreviations
- DBT – Digital breast tomosynthesis
- DEXA – Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry
- DICOM – Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine
- DSA – Digital subtraction angiography
- DXA – Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry
- FDG – Fluorodeoxyglucose (F-18)
- FLAIR – Fluid-attenuated inversion recovery
- Fluoro – Fluoroscopy
See all 58 medical imaging abbreviations →
This entry is for general education and is not medical advice. Abbreviation use varies between institutions; always confirm in context.