ISO
Abbreviation with 8 meanings
| Stands for | International Organization for Standardization |
|---|---|
| Meanings | 8 |
| Categories | Organizations & Companies, Science & Engineering, Technology & Computing, Writing & Everyday, Business & Finance, Sports |
ISO has eight meanings. The most common are International Organization for Standardization (international organization) and Independent system operator (energy); it can also stand for ISO disc image, In search of, Incentive stock option, Isolated power and Isolation, plus 1 more listed below.
Meanings of ISO at a glance
| # | ISO stands for | Context |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | International Organization for Standardization | Organizations & Companies › International Organization |
| 2 | Independent system operator | Science & Engineering › Energy |
| 3 | ISO disc image | Technology & Computing › File Format |
| 4 | In search of | Writing & Everyday › Classified Ad |
| 5 | Incentive stock option | Business & Finance › Human Resources |
| 6 | Isolated power | Sports › Baseball |
| 7 | Isolation | Sports › Basketball |
| 8 | Insurance Services Office | Business & Finance › Insurance |
1. International Organization for Standardization
Organizations & Companies · International Organization Abbreviations
Independent nongovernmental organization based in Geneva whose members are the national standards bodies of about 170 countries, and which develops international standards such as ISO 9001 for quality management and ISO 8601 for dates.
Example: The factory is certified to ISO 9001 and ISO 14001.
Founded in 1947, it has published more than 25,000 standards, including the ISO 3166 country codes and the ISO 4217 currency codes. Its short name is not a strict acronym; it was chosen to be the same in all languages, echoing the Greek "isos", meaning equal. In photography ISO refers to film and sensor sensitivity.
2. Independent system operator
Science & Engineering · Energy Abbreviations
Organization that operates a region's high-voltage power grid and wholesale electricity markets independently of the companies that own generation and lines. US ISOs include CAISO in California, ERCOT in Texas, MISO in the Midwest, NYISO and ISO New England.
Example: The ISO issued a conservation alert asking customers to reduce use between 4 and 9 p.m.
ISOs were created following FERC Order 888 in 1996, which opened transmission to competition. They balance supply and demand in real time, dispatch power plants and run day-ahead and real-time markets. In most other contexts ISO refers to the International Organization for Standardization.
3. ISO disc image
Technology & Computing · File Format Abbreviations
File containing an exact copy of an optical disc's file system, used to distribute operating systems, Linux distributions and software, or to archive CDs and DVDs. ISO files can be mounted as virtual drives or written to USB sticks.
Example: Download the Windows 11 ISO and use Rufus to make a bootable USB drive.
The name comes from ISO 9660, the CD-ROM file system standard published by the International Organization for Standardization in 1988; DVD and Blu-ray images often use UDF instead but keep the .iso extension. Windows 8 and later, macOS and Linux can mount ISO files natively. Tools such as Rufus and balenaEtcher write them to USB drives for installation.
4. In search of
Writing & Everyday · Classified Ad Abbreviations · also used in business and texting
Opens a post by someone looking to buy, borrow or find something, as in "ISO crib" or "ISO roommate." It is common in local buy-sell groups, forums and housing boards.
Example: ISO a gently used high chair, will pick up anywhere in the north suburbs.
ISO posts let buyers advertise what they want so sellers can respond with offers. In newspaper personals, ISO introduced the kind of partner sought. The same letters also name the International Organization for Standardization, whose short name comes from Greek isos, "equal," rather than from its English initials.
5. Incentive stock option
Business & Finance · Human Resources Abbreviations
Employee stock option that can qualify for favorable tax treatment under section 422: no regular income tax is due at exercise, and if shares are held long enough the whole gain is taxed as long-term capital gain. The exercise spread may trigger the alternative minimum tax.
Example: I exercised my ISOs early, while the spread was small, to limit AMT exposure.
ISOs can be granted only to employees, and only the first $100,000 of options becoming exercisable each year qualifies. Shares must be held two years from grant and one year from exercise. Options usually lose ISO status if not exercised within three months of leaving the company. The letters more commonly refer to the International Organization for Standardization.
6. Isolated power
Sports · Baseball Abbreviations
Slugging percentage minus batting average, measuring extra-base power only. An ISO of .200 or more marks a strong power hitter, while .100 indicates mostly singles.
Example: His ISO jumped from .150 to .260 after he changed his swing path.
Created to separate power from batting average, which SLG blends together. In basketball ISO means an isolation play, and in photography a camera's sensitivity setting.
7. Isolation
Sports · Basketball Abbreviations
Offensive play in which teammates clear to one side so a single player can attack his defender one-on-one. Isolations are common late in the shot clock and in close games.
Example: He went to an ISO on the final possession and hit a step-back jumper.
Also called "iso-ball" when an offense relies heavily on it. Tracking data from Synergy and NBA.com reports points per isolation possession. In photography ISO is a camera sensitivity setting, and in baseball ISO means isolated power.
8. Insurance Services Office
Business & Finance · Insurance Abbreviations
Verisk subsidiary that develops standardized policy forms, rules and loss cost data used by most US property and casualty insurers, such as the commercial general liability form.
Example: The policy uses the ISO homeowners form with company-specific endorsements.
Founded in 1971 and now part of Verisk. ISO also runs fire protection classification ratings for communities.
Related abbreviations
More international organization abbreviations
- IMO – International Maritime Organization
- INTERPOL – International Criminal Police Organization
- IOM – International Organization for Migration
- IPCC – Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
- ITU – International Telecommunication Union
- IUCN – International Union for Conservation of Nature
- MERCOSUR – Southern Common Market
- NAFTA – North American Free Trade Agreement
See all 108 international organization abbreviations →