Meaning & use
FC
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Meanings
abbreviation
Short for football club, used in the names of soccer teams.
Grammar: Read as the letters F and C; it can come before or after a team name.
Patterns
- FC + team name
- team name + FC
He plays for FC Barcelona.
Manchester United FC is one of the most famous clubs in the world.
abbreviationtechnical
Short for 'F.C.' in other contexts, such as 'fire control' or 'further education'.
Grammar: Used mainly in technical or official writing; the full form is usually written out on first use.
Patterns
- FC system
- FC college
The FC system monitors the building's alarms.
She enrolled in an FC course at the local college.
Common combinations
- FC Barcelona
- FC Barcelona won the match.
- football club
- The football club was founded in 1899.
- FC Bayern
- FC Bayern is a German team.
- FC United
- FC United has a strong local following.
Synonyms and how they differ
- football club
- The full phrase; use it when writing formally, while 'FC' is a short form in team names.
Commonly confused: FC or Fb?
FC vs Fb
'Fb' is an informal abbreviation for Facebook, not for football club; 'FC' is the standard abbreviation for football club.
Practice
Where does 'FC' usually appear in a soccer team's name?
Choose one answer.
'FC' can come before or after the team name, depending on the club's official name, so both 'FC Barcelona' and 'Barcelona FC' are possible. It is not fixed to one position.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “FC”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.