Is It an SMTP or a SMTP?

It's an SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol). Since the letter "S" begins with a vowel sound, we put "an" before the abbreviation SMTP.

It's an SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol). Since the letter "S" begins with a vowel sound, we put "an" before the abbreviation SMTP.

An SMTP is a standard communication protocol for electronic mail transmission.

A SMTP is a standard communication protocol for electronic mail transmission.

Remember, the choice between a and an is driven by pronunciation, not spelling.

An SMTP session can be used to send mail to another user.

It failed to establish an SMTP connection.

And the letter "S" sounds like "ess". We say "an S" (not "a S").

The abbreviations SMTP begins with an S.

These expressions contain abbreviations that begin with the consonant "S" and are typically pronounced as separate letters; therefore, they also take the article "a":

  • an SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
  • an SLA (Service-Level Agreement)
  • an SMS (Short Message Service)
  • an SSD (Solid-State Drive)
  • an STD (Sexually Transmitted Disease)
  • an SUV (Sport Utility Vehicle)
  • an SVG (Scalable Vector Graphics)
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