NATO

1. 1
   proper nounacronym

   Acronym of North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

   NATO coordinated joint military exercises among its member states this spring.

   The summit reaffirmed NATO's commitment to collective defense.

   Note

   This is the best known of three unrelated acronyms that share these four letters, each with its own origin. Said as one word, it names the military alliance built on the North Atlantic Treaty, and it takes no article: Lyndon Johnson's The Vantage Point (1971) worries about "the unity of NATO." It also works as a modifier, as in Harry S. Truman's "a NATO organization" (1964).

2. 2
   proper nounUSacronym

   Acronym of National Association of Theatre Owners.

   At its annual convention, NATO honored several leading film distributors.

   NATO lobbied studios to preserve a theatrical release window for new films.

   Note

   This is a name from the American film business, and its full title keeps the -re spelling Theatre even though American usage generally writes theater. In film-trade writing, NATO means this group of cinema owners rather than the military alliance. Outside that setting, spell out the full name on first mention so the reader is not misled.

3. 3
   phraseslangMalaysiaSingaporeacronym

   Acronym of No Action Talk Only.

   Ever since he joined the committee, it has been pure NATO and zero results.

   The whole department turned out to be NATO, full of meetings but no decisions.

   Note

   Malaysian and Singaporean slang aimed at people who talk and never act, and it bends easily across the grammar. A government can be "becoming NATO," with the word used like an adjective, and it can even turn into a lowercase verb: "don't nato." Keep it to casual, teasing talk. It shares only its letters with the military alliance.

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