What does AK stand for? In nearly every case, AK is the postal code for Alaska, the largest US state by area. You will see it on envelopes, driver's licenses, shipping labels and any form with a state box.
AK also does duty in a couple of other fields. In news and history, AK usually points to the AK-47, a rifle designed in the Soviet Union. Card players use AK for an ace and a king in the same hand. Where the letters appear is your best clue, and the ranking below runs from the meaning you will meet most to the one you will meet least.
Quick facts
Stands for
Alaska (USPS postal code)Other meanings
AK-47 rifle; ace-king in pokerType
Postal code; initialismHow to say it
A K, or just say AlaskaOlder state abbreviation
Alaska is not usually shortened in running textNot to be confused with
AR (Arkansas), AL (Alabama), AZ (Arizona)
What does AK stand for? Meanings ranked
| Rank | Setting | AK stands for | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Addresses and forms | Alaska | Juneau, AK 99801 |
| 2 | News, history, military | AK-47 or a related rifle | "Soldiers carried AKs." |
| 3 | Poker and card games | Ace and king | "I raised with AK." |
| 4 | Typos and chats | Often a slip for OK or aka | "ak see you soon" |
When AK follows a city name or sits in a state field, it is Alaska every time. Anywhere else, read the sentence around it.
AK, the postal code for Alaska
Mail sorting in the United States relies on short state codes written in capitals without periods. Alaska received AK, which pairs the leading A of the name with the K from its middle. Older style guides used Alaska written out, since the name is short, so AK is the form you will see on mail and forms rather than in running text.
On a shipping label: "Fairbanks, AK 99701." The two letters tell the sorting machines and carriers the package is bound for Alaska, while the five digits after it point to one local post office area.
For the full rules, plus what to write in a news story or a formal letter, see the Alaska abbreviation page and the state abbreviations guide.
AK as in AK-47
AK-47 is the short name of an automatic rifle designed in the Soviet Union in the 1940s. AK comes from the Russian words for automatic rifle of Kalashnikov, after its designer, and 47 refers to 1947, the year of the design. Many later rifles based on it also carry AK in their names, and in news reports people sometimes say "AKs" for the whole family.
You will meet this meaning in history books, news about conflicts and discussions of military equipment. It is neutral in those settings: the letters name a type of weapon, not a person or group.
AK in poker
Card players write hands with letters: A for ace, K for king, Q for queen, J for jack. So AK means a hand holding an ace and a king. Players add an s or an o to say whether the two cards share a suit: AKs is suited, AKo is offsuit. The hand is strong before the shared cards are dealt, but it is not a made hand yet. It has a well known nickname at the table, Big Slick.
Do not mix up AK with these codes
Several state codes start with A, and people swap them all the time:
- AK: Alaska
- AL: Alabama
- AR: Arkansas, not Alaska. See the Arkansas abbreviation page.
- AZ: Arizona
A handy memory trick: the K in AK is the hard K you hear in the middle of Alaska ("uh-LAS-kuh"), while AR keeps the R from Arkansas. Also watch for AR in other settings, where it can mean augmented reality or a different rifle style.
Writing and saying AK
Write AK in capitals with no periods. In speech, most people just say "Alaska" when they mean the state and "A K" when they mean the rifle or the poker hand. Use an before it when you say the letters, since A sounds like "ay": "an AK in the photo." The plural, AKs, is used for the rifles. More short forms like this sit in our famous acronyms list.
Questions people ask
What state is AK?
AK is Alaska. It is the official two-letter code used by the US Postal Service and on most forms.
Is AK Arkansas or Alaska?
AK is Alaska. Arkansas is AR, and people swap these two codes a lot, so check any address twice.
What does AK mean in AK-47?
AK comes from the Russian for automatic rifle of Kalashnikov, named after its designer. The 47 refers to 1947.
What does AK mean in poker?
It means a hand made of an ace and a king. AKs means the two cards are the same suit, and AKo means they are not.
What does AK mean in a text?
In texts it is often a typo for OK or for aka. If the letters follow a town name, the person means Alaska.