Mobile Phones: SMS Dictionary

History of SMS Abbreviations

SMS stands for Short Messaging Service; a system originally developed by Nokia to allow mobile phones to send short text messages (160 characters or less).

The system became so popular that it turned into the 'killer application' that everyone wanted for their mobile phones. As a result every manufacturer included SMS as a feature of their phones.

The most common application of the service is person-to-person messaging, but text messages are also often used to interact with automated systems, such as ordering products and services for mobile phones, or participating in contests. There are some services available on the Internet that allow users to send text messages free of direct charge to the sender, although users of North American networks may often have to pay to receive any SMS text message.

Most modern phones allow short messages of up to 450 characters to be sent in a 3-page SMS. Though, for many users, this remains limiting.

SMS Abbreviations — Overcoming the Limitations

In the early days of SMS, the messages that could be sent were often too short to be meaningful. As a results characters were at a premium and ways were invented to reduce a number of commoonly-used words into only the essential characters. This way later became l8r. Thus a form of phonetic alphabet evolved using letters and numbers to minimize the total number of characters being utilized and sent.

As always, the abbreviated SMS 'words' have evolved and developed over the years and the dictionary presented here gives a list of as many of the current usages as I could find.

If you're looking for an abbreviation you can use the alphabetical links below or the links on the right to find any mobile phone SMS abbreviation you desire.

                               a b c d e
                               f g h i j
                               k l m n o
                               p q r s t
                               u v w x y
                               z #
                               Smiles

To look for a particular abbreviation simply click on an entry in the table above and simply browse the page returned to you.