Word List

The Yahoo! Word List

The Yahoo! word list covers terms related to communications, technology, branding, and other topics that our U.S. editors have encountered frequently. Following is a healthy sampling of the full Yahoo! word list. (We update the online list quarterly—see what’s new.)

These are the decisions that Yahoo! has come to after years of writing and editing for the Web. You may naturally make different choices and have different entries, but our word list can be useful as a springboard or as an additional reference.

  • g
    Acceptable abbreviation for gram(s). Include a space between the number and g. For information about when it’s OK to use the abbreviation, see “Units of Measure.”
  • G
    attn. Don’t use as an abbreviation for thousand, gigabyte, or gigahertz. Instead, use K, GB, and GHz, respectively.
  • gal.
    Acceptable abbreviation for gallon(s). Note period. Include a space between the number and gal. For information about when it’s OK to use the abbreviation, see “Units of Measure.”
  • gallon
    An acceptable abbreviation for gallon(s) is gal. (note period). Note: A gallon is a different measurement in the U.S. and the U.K.
  • Game Boy
    Two words. Do not add s to form the plural of this Nintendo trademark.
  • GameCube
    One word. Note capitalization of this Nintendo trademark. Do not add s to form the plural.
  • GB
    Abbreviation for gigabyte. Don’t include a space between the number and GB.
  • Gbps
    Abbreviation for gigabits per second. Note capitalization—especially the lowercase b, which distinguishes this from GBps, a different measurement. Don’t include a space between the number and the abbreviation.
  • GBps
    Abbreviation for gigabytes per second. Note capitalization—especially uppercase B, which distinguishes this from Gbps, a different measurement. Don’t include a space between the number and the abbreviation.
  • Generation X, Generation Xer, Gen Xer
    All are acceptable.
  • Generation Y, Gen Y
    Both are acceptable.
  • geolocation
    One word. The geographic location of an Internet-connected computer, or the process of determining that location.
  • geotagging (n.), geotag (v.)
    One word. The verb means to add geographic data (such as longitude and latitude coordinates) to a photo or other media file.
  • GHz
    Abbreviation for gigahertz. Note capitalization. Don’t include a space between the number and GHz.
  • GIF
    Acronym for Graphic Interchange Format. Generally used to refer to an image file with the file name extension gif. Acronym is always OK. Plural: GIFs.
  • gigabyte
    OK to abbreviate as GB.
  • Google
    attn. According to Google guidelines, it is not OK to use this trademark as a verb. Use search, search for, or search on instead.
  • GOP
    Abbreviation for Grand Old Party, referring to the Republican Party in the United States.
  • governor
    Use Gov. or Govs. before a name: Gov. Sarah Palin; Govs. Palin and Schwarzenegger. Otherwise lowercase and don’t abbreviate: The governor declared a state of emergency.
  • govt.
    Acceptable abbreviation for government. Use only when space is tight. Note period.
  • GPS
    Abbreviation for global positioning system. Abbreviation is always OK.
  • gram
    An acceptable abbreviation for gram(s) is g (no period).
  • gray, grey
    The preferred U.S. spelling is gray. Grey is chiefly British and is considered a variant of gray in the United States.
  • grayware
    One word. Software that is not quite malware but is still undesirable.
  • Ground Zero, ground zero
    Capitalize when referring to the site of the September 11, 2001, attacks in the United States. Lowercase when used generically.
  • GSM
    Abbreviation for Groupe Speciale Mobile or Global System for Mobile Communications, a digital communication standard used by some mobile devices. Abbreviation is always OK.
  • guestbook
  • GUI
    Abbreviation for graphical user interface. Abbreviation OK to use after initial explanation. Plural: GUIs.

Build your own word list

A word list is an important part of a site’s style guide. It tracks your decisions, helps you enforce them to maintain your site’s voice and editorial standards, and keeps editors from having to make the same kinds of decisions over and over again—possibly coming to contradictory conclusions each time.
Build your own word list