Do you know the definition of PM? This article will provide you with all of the information you need on the abbreviation PM, including its definition, usage, and more!
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According to the Translation Bureau of Canada, the acronym PM stands for the Latin post meridiem, which means after midday. This is in opposition to AM, or ante meridiem, meaning before midday. These are usually written in lowercase with a period, i.e a.m. and p.m., but can also be written in uppercase with no periods. You should not use AM or PM with with the expression o’clock or with the words morning, afternoon, evening or night. Only use AM and PM when using a 12-hour clock. They are unnecessary and incorrect when the 24-hour clock or military time in the United Stateswhich also uses 24-hour format is used. Though there are 24 hours of the day, most people use the 12-hour system.
For example, say you pay a shop visit to a mechanic to get a time estimate on your car. If you have consistent inspections and mind safety when it comes to mechanical decisions, you can leave your car in the hands of the technicians. Shop management or the technician might say that with ordering the components, a piece of equipment and labor, they can have it done by seven on Friday. In this context, they would need to specify that they mean 7PM so there is no lack of understanding and you don’t show up at 7AM instead. Inspections and work are personal choices and require lengthy decision-making, so you might request it done by the next PM instead. Good luck!
PM can also stand for private message. This is an abbreviation term and shorthand that are used on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter that have messaging options. You can use the website’s chat application by typing in a friend’s name and sending the transmission of a message. If there is a green dot, it probably means they are online in their downtime or availability. The recipient will get a notification when they receive a message.
According to The Free Dictionary, the abbreviation PM can stand for much more than just post meridiem or private message. This abbreviation has a plethora of other potential definitions. While these are still valid different meanings, they are less common, and should therefore be used sparingly. If you do decide to use one of these alternate meanings for the acronym PM, make sure that you provide the reader with the appropriate context so that they can infer the correct intended meaning and avoid confusion.
Prime Minister
Personal Message (IRC)
Particulate Matter
Postmaster
Postmortem
Saint Pierre and Miquelon (ISO country code, top level domain name, ccTLD)
Postmistress
Past Master
Provost Marshal
Police Magistrate
Pour Memoir (French: For Memory; response to RSVP)
Panama
Power Management
Per Month
PERL Module
Project Management
Project Manager
Pain Management
Price Match
Plus Minus (hockey goals scored while player on/off ice)
Performance Monitoring
Paul McCartney (musician)
Property Manager
Product Manager
Process Management
Program Manager
Post Malone (music)
Paramedic
Precious Metals
Performance Management
Principles of Medicine
Performance Measurement
Power Macintosh (Apple)
PacMan
Phillip Morris
Perpetual Motion
Priority Mail (USPS)
Pacemaker
Preventive Medicine
Preventative Maintenance
Portfolio Manager
Preventive Maintenance
Maximum Power
Palma de Mallorca (Spain)
Production Manager
Practice Management
Primeiro-Ministro (Portugal)
Push Me
Perry Meridian (High School)
Prime Mover
Pocket Monsters (Pokémon)
Plasma Membrane (lipid bilayer)
Power Monitoring
Paramagnetic
Process Model
Permanent Magnet
Police Misconduct
Performance Meeting
Popular Mechanics (magazine)
Pipe Major
Production Management
Policy Manual
Personal Mobility (various meanings)
Precautionary Measure
Procedures Manual
Personnel Manager
Permanent Memory
Paymaster
Paper Mario (N64 game)
Princess Mononoke
Powder Metallurgy
Printed Matter
Project M (gaming)
Planned Maintenance
Perfect Money (Internet payment system; Panama)
Play Money
Power Module
Palliative Medicine
Phantom Menace (Star Wars)
Production Model
Policia Militar
Pattern Matching
Purchasing Manager
Pubblico Ministero (Italian: Public Prosecutor)
PageMaker (Adobe software)
Procurement Manager
Prime Meridian (zero longitude)
Prime Meridian (magazine)
Periodic Maintenance
Psychosomatic Medicine
Participating Member (various organizations)
Political Military
Pulp Mill
Premier Ministre (French: Prime Minister; various nations)
Philippine Marine (indigenous Marine in the Philippines)
Person Months (work measurement)
Pitchfork Media
Sisters of the Presentation of Mary (religious order)
Peoplemover
People Meter
Provost Marshall (US DoD)
Bureau of Political-Military Affairs (US DoD)
Preventative Maintenance Service/Preventative Maintenance Technology/Preventive Maintenance Process (determined repair choices and replacement parts at lowest cost during act of inspection)
Presentation Manager (OS/2)
PartitionMagic (PowerQuest)
Peso Mexicano (Mexican Peso)
Peritoneal Metastasis
Privilege Management (IT, middleware; networking)
Plan B
Potential Life of Tires (determines necessary repairs or necessity of the repair of equipment, e.g. max life)
Progressive Maintenance
Pilot Monitoring
Pons-Medulla
Program Memorandum
Propulsion Module
Progressive Majority
Picometer
Pour Mémoire (French: for the record)
Polymer Morphology
Project Memo
Push Money
Planar Map
Platform Model (Object Management Group)
Purulent Meningitis
Pontifex Maximus
Properties Master (theatre)
Preparative Meeting (Quaker religion)
Prototyping Methodology
Puppymill
Pedometrics
Power Mirror
Proposed Monitor
Pressurized Module
Protocol Machine
Playmore Corporation (Japan)
Production Manifold (oil and gas drilling)
Photo Multiplier
Plaza Miranda (Philippines)
Police Militaire (French: Military Police)
Platinum Medallion (Delta Sky Miles)
PERL Monk
Passage Material (US DoD)
Performance Margin
Preço de Mercado (Portuguese: Market Price)
Peritrophic Matrix (biology)
Pistolet Mitrailleur (French: Machine Gun)
Purchase Memorandum
Pohjoismaiden Mestaruus (Finnish: Nordic Championship)
Petameter (10 E^15, one quadrillion meters)
Passmonster (security software)
Plant Miscellaneous
Parallel Track Multiunit (US DoD)
Précompte Mobilier (French)
Pressure Multiplier
Processable Mode
Project Missionary
Peter Moosleitner’s Magazin (German science magazine)
Kevin Miller is a growth marketer with an extensive background in Search Engine Optimization, paid acquisition and email marketing. He is also an online editor and writer based out of Los Angeles, CA. He studied at Georgetown University, worked at Google and became infatuated with English Grammar and for years has been diving into the language, demystifying the do's and don'ts for all who share the same passion! He can be found online here.
Kevin
August 2, 2021
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