What type of license limits the use of a work to non-commercial purposes?

The correct answer is a license that specifically restricts the use of a work to non-commercial purposes, which is represented by the acronym "CC-NC." This type of Creative Commons license is designed to ensure that the creator's work can be shared and adapted by others, but it explicitly prohibits any usage that would be considered commercial.

This means that users can still enjoy and modify the work as long as they are not using it for commercial gain. This license is particularly appealing to creators who want to allow free distribution and adaptation of their works while maintaining control over how the work is monetized or capitalized upon.

In contrast, the other licenses mentioned do not impose such a restriction on commercial use. For instance, "CC-BY" allows others to use the work for any purpose as long as they give appropriate credit to the creator. "CC-SA" enables sharing even for commercial reasons as long as adaptations are licensed under identical terms, and "CC-ND" allows others to use the work but does not allow adaptations, making it a different form of restriction. Therefore, the defining feature of the "CC-NC" license as limiting use to non-commercial purposes is what makes it the correct answer in this context.