Other Sports Abbreviations
63 abbreviations · part of Sports Abbreviations
Abbreviations from individual and international sports: running and track and field, golf, tennis, boxing and mixed martial arts, motorsport, cycling, swimming, cricket and rugby, plus the result codes and betting terms used across many sports. Results tables use short codes such as DNF, DQ and PB to explain how an athlete finished, while combat-sports records list how each fight ended (KO, TKO, UD). Where the same letters mean something else in team sports, the entry notes the difference.
| Abbreviation | Stands for | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 10K | 10 kilometers | Running race of 10 kilometers, about 6.2 miles, a standard road-race distance and an Olympic track event as the 10,000 meters. |
| 5K | 5 kilometers | Running race of 5 kilometers, about 3.1 miles, the most popular road-race distance and a common target for beginners. |
| ATS | Against the spread | Sports betting record showing how a team performs relative to the point spread rather than straight wins and losses. |
| BJJ | Brazilian jiu-jitsu | Grappling martial art focused on ground fighting, joint locks and chokes, which lets a smaller fighter control larger opponents through leverage. |
| BP | Break point | Tennis situation in which the receiver needs one more point to win the opponent's service game. |
| BQ | Boston qualifier | Finishing time fast enough to meet the Boston Marathon's age-group qualifying standard, a major goal for amateur marathoners. "BQ" is used both as a noun and as a verb. |
| DF | Double fault | Tennis error in which the server misses both the first and second serve, losing the point. |
| DNF | Did not finish | Result code for a competitor who started a race or event but did not complete it, because of injury, mechanical failure, a crash or withdrawal. |
| DNQ | Did not qualify | Result code for an athlete, car or team that failed to make the main event or final through qualifying, such as a driver bumped from the Indianapolis 500 field or a… |
| DNS | Did not start | Result code for an entrant who was registered or qualified but did not begin the race or event, usually because of illness, injury or a late withdrawal. |
| DQ | Disqualified | Result code for an athlete or team removed from the results for breaking the rules, such as a false start, lane violation, illegal stroke or failed drug test. |
| DRS | Decision Review System | Cricket system that lets teams challenge an on-field umpire's decision using replays, ball-tracking and edge-detection technology. |
| FIR | Fairways in regulation | Golf statistic counting tee shots that finish on the fairway on par-4 and par-5 holes. |
| GC | General classification | Overall standings in a multi-stage cycling race such as the Tour de France, based on cumulative time. |
| GIR | Greens in regulation | Golf statistic for holes where the ball reaches the putting green in par minus two strokes: one shot on a par 3, two on a par 4, three on a par 5. |
| GP | Grand Prix | Name for an individual race in Formula One and other series, such as the Monaco Grand Prix, and for events in sports including figure skating, show jumping and cycling. |
| H2H | Head-to-head | Record of results between two specific competitors or teams, used in rivalries, tiebreakers and betting. |
| HCP | Handicap | Golfer's numerical measure of playing ability, used to adjust scores so players of different levels can compete fairly. |
| HM | Half marathon | Road race of 21.0975 kilometers (13.1 miles), half the marathon distance. |
| IM | Individual medley | Swimming event in which one swimmer covers all four strokes in equal parts, in the order butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke, freestyle. |
| ITT | Individual time trial | Cycling race against the clock in which riders start alone at intervals and the fastest time wins, with no drafting allowed. |
| KO | Knockout | Victory in boxing, MMA or kickboxing when an opponent is knocked down and cannot rise before the referee counts to ten, or is rendered unable to continue by a strike. |
| KOM | King of the Mountains | Classification for the best climber in a cycling stage race, decided by points at categorized summits. |
| LBW | Leg before wicket | Cricket dismissal in which the ball strikes the batter's body, usually the leg pad, when it would otherwise have hit the stumps, subject to rules about where it pitched… |
| LCM | Long course meters | Swimming in a 50-meter pool, the format used at the Olympics and long-course World Championships. |
| LL | Lucky loser | Tennis player who lost in the final round of qualifying but enters the main draw when another player withdraws before the tournament begins. |
| MC | Missed cut | Golf result for a player eliminated after the cut, usually made after 36 holes of a 72-hole tournament, when only the leading players and ties continue. |
| MD | Majority decision | Fight result in which two judges score the bout for one fighter and the third scores it a draw. |
| ML | Moneyline | Straight bet on which team or player will win, with American odds showing payouts: a minus number is the stake needed to win 100, a plus number the winnings on a 100… |
| MMA | Mixed martial arts | Full-contact combat sport combining striking and grappling from boxing, kickboxing, wrestling, judo and Brazilian jiu-jitsu, fought in a cage or ring. |
| NC | No contest | Result in boxing or mixed martial arts that voids a fight, typically because of an accidental foul that ends it early, a failed drug test or outside interference. |
| NR | National record | Best mark ever by an athlete from a given country in an event. |
| NRR | Net run rate | Tiebreaker used in cricket tournaments: a team's run rate scored minus the run rate conceded across all matches. |
| O/U | Over/under | Betting market on whether the combined score of a game will be over or under a number set by sportsbooks. |
| OB | Out of bounds | Area outside a golf course's boundaries, marked by white stakes or lines. |
| ODI | One Day International | International cricket match in which each side bats once for up to 50 overs, finishing in a single day. |
| OR | Olympic record | Best performance ever achieved at the Olympic Games in an event, which may be slower than the world record. |
| P4P | Pound-for-pound | Ranking of the best fighters regardless of weight class, estimating who would be best if all were the same size. |
| PB | Personal best | Athlete's fastest time, longest distance or highest score ever in an event, the main measure of individual progress in running, swimming, athletics and weightlifting. |
| PR | Personal record | Athlete's best-ever performance in an event, the American equivalent of PB, used by runners, swimmers, weightlifters and CrossFit athletes. |
| ret. | Retired | Tennis score notation for a match that ended because a player stopped mid-match, usually through injury. |
| RNC | Rear-naked choke | Submission hold applied from behind the opponent, with one arm around the neck and the other locking it in place, cutting off blood flow to the brain. |
| RR | Run rate | Cricket measure of the average runs scored per over by a batting side. |
| RWC | Rugby World Cup | Men's international rugby union championship held every four years since 1987, with the winner receiving the Webb Ellis Cup. |
| SB | Season's best | Athlete's best performance in an event during the current season, marked SB in results. |
| SC | Safety car | Car deployed onto a racetrack after an accident or hazard, leading the field at reduced speed with overtaking banned until the track is cleared. |
| SCY | Short course yards | Swimming in a 25-yard pool, the standard format for US high school and college competition. |
| SD | Split decision | Fight result in which two judges score the bout for one fighter and the third judge scores it for the other. |
| SR | Strike rate | Cricket statistic with two meanings: for batters, runs scored per 100 balls faced; for bowlers, balls bowled per wicket taken. |
| T&F | Track and field | Sport made up of running events on a track and jumping and throwing events on the field, called athletics in most of the world outside the United States. |
| T20 | Twenty20 | Short form of cricket in which each team bats for a maximum of 20 overs, with matches lasting about three hours. |
| TB | Tiebreak | Tennis game played to decide a set at six games all, won by the first player to reach seven points with a two-point margin. |
| TdF | Tour de France | Three-week cycling race around France each July, the most prestigious event in road cycling. |
| TKO | Technical knockout | Victory awarded when the referee stops a fight because a fighter cannot defend himself, the ringside doctor rules he cannot continue, or his corner throws in the towel. |
| TMO | Television match official | Video official in rugby union who reviews footage to help the referee decide on tries, foul play and other key incidents. |
| UD | Unanimous decision | Fight result in which all three judges score the bout for the same fighter after the scheduled rounds. |
| UE | Unforced error | Tennis statistic for a missed shot that the player had time and position to make, as opposed to errors forced by the opponent's shot. |
| VSC | Virtual safety car | Formula One procedure in which drivers must slow to a set delta time on every part of the track without a physical safety car, used for incidents that need marshals on… |
| W/O | Walkover | Result awarded when a player or team cannot compete, typically due to injury or illness, so the opponent advances without playing. |
| WC | Wild card | Entry into a tennis or golf tournament granted by the organizers to a player who did not qualify on ranking, often a local player, a rising junior or a returning star. |
| WD | Withdrew | Result code for a golfer or tennis player who pulled out of a tournament after it began, usually because of injury or illness. |
| WR | World record | Best mark ever recorded in an event under official conditions and ratified by the sport's governing body, such as World Athletics or World Aquatics. |
| XC | Cross-country | Running over natural terrain such as grass, hills and trails rather than track or road, especially as a fall high school and college sport. |