AU is the short name for the African Union: a group of African countries that try to work together on shared problems such as peace, trade, and how the continent speaks to the rest of the world. In that way it is a little like the EU (the European Union), though it is not the same group and it is not part of the EU. You will see AU in news, maps, and official papers, not in everyday chat. People say the two letters separately: 'A-U', not like the word 'ow'. Though actually, the same two letters do other jobs in English too — gold on a science chart is Au, and AU can also stand for Australia on bags and forms. Those are different uses. This entry is only the African Union.