The acronym ETL stands for Extract, Transform, Load, which is a crucial process in data processing. ETL involves extracting data from disparate sources, transforming it into a suitable format for analysis, and loading it into a destination system, typically a data warehouse. This process enables organizations to consolidate data from various systems, ensuring it is clean, consistent, and ready for analysis. ETL is vital for data integration and plays a significant role in business intelligence and decision-making processes.