TOC
Abbreviation with 4 meanings
| Stands for | Table of contents |
|---|---|
| Meanings | 4 |
| Categories | Writing & Everyday, Business & Finance, Military, Transportation & Travel |
TOC has four meanings. The most common are Table of contents (citation and bibliography) and Theory of constraints (management & strategy); it can also stand for Tactical operations center and Train operating company.
Meanings of TOC at a glance
| # | TOC stands for | Context |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Table of contents | Writing & Everyday › Citation and Bibliography |
| 2 | Theory of constraints | Business & Finance › Management & Strategy |
| 3 | Tactical operations center | Military › Military Term |
| 4 | Train operating company | Transportation & Travel › Rail and Transit |
1. Table of contents
Writing & Everyday · Citation and Bibliography Abbreviations · also used in entertainment
Refers to the list of chapters, sections and page numbers at the front of a book, report or thesis. Word processors can generate a TOC automatically from heading styles.
Example: Update the TOC before exporting the report so the page numbers match the final layout.
Publishers usually place the table of contents after the title page and dedication, as part of the front matter. Ebooks and PDFs use linked TOCs for navigation. In management, TOC also means the theory of constraints, a method developed by Eliyahu Goldratt.
2. Theory of constraints
Business & Finance · Management & Strategy Abbreviations
Management philosophy holding that every system's output is limited by a small number of constraints, or bottlenecks, and that improving anything other than the constraint does not raise throughput. Managers identify the constraint, exploit it, subordinate everything else to it, elevate it and then repeat.
Example: Using TOC, we found that paint drying, not assembly, was capping daily output, so we added a second oven.
Eliyahu Goldratt introduced the theory in his 1984 business novel The Goal. TOC tools include drum-buffer-rope scheduling and throughput accounting. In publishing, TOC means table of contents.
3. Tactical operations center
Military · Military Term Abbreviations
Command post where a battalion or brigade staff tracks the battle, manages communications and helps the commander control operations, usually with maps, screens and radios.
Example: The TOC tracked every patrol on a digital map and the radio log.
Pronounced "tock." Larger headquarters run main and tactical command posts, and some units call their operations center a TOC even in garrison. Its night shift is notorious for long hours and caffeine.
4. Train operating company
Transportation & Travel · Rail and Transit Abbreviations
Company running passenger trains in Great Britain under contracts with the government, such as Avanti West Coast, GWR or Northern. TOCs lease trains and pay to use Network Rail's tracks.
Example: Delay repay claims go to whichever TOC ran the late train, not to Network Rail.
The system was created by rail privatization in the 1990s. Many operators returned to government control after failing financially or being stripped of their contracts. A 2024 law allows the remaining contracts to be taken into public ownership as they expire, ahead of the creation of Great British Railways.
Related abbreviations
More citation and bibliography abbreviations
- abr. – Abridged
- AMA – AMA Manual of Style
- anon. – Anonymous
- AP – Associated Press Stylebook
- APA – American Psychological Association (style)
- app. – Appendix
- ARC – Advance reader copy
- bibliog. – Bibliography
See all 58 citation and bibliography abbreviations →