am

¹

[ am; unstressed uhm, m ]

verb

1. 1st person singular present indicative of be.

Am

²

Symbol, Chemistry.

1. americium.

AM

³

abbreviation for

1. Electronics. amplitude modulation: a method of impressing a signal on a radio carrier wave by varying its amplitude.
2. Radio. a system of broadcasting by means of amplitude modulation.
3. of, relating to, or utilizing such a system. Compare FM
4. Asian male.

Am.

⁴

abbreviation for

1. America.
2. American.

A/m

⁵

1. ampere per meter.

a.m.

⁶

abbreviation for

1. before noon.
2. the period from midnight to noon, especially the period of daylight prior to noon:

   Shall we meet Saturday a.m.?

3. a morning newspaper, sometimes issued shortly before midnight.

A.M.

⁷

abbreviation for

1. a.m. ( def )
2. Master of Arts.

Am.

¹

abbreviation for

1. America(n)

AM

²

abbreviation for

1. associate member
2. Assembly Member (of the National Assembly of Wales)
3. Albert Medal
4. Master of Arts
5. Alsoam amplitude modulation
6. See a.m.
7. Member of the Order of Australia
8. Armenia (international car registration)

a.m.

³

abbreviation for

1. ante meridiem Compare p.m.

am

⁴

verb

1. used with I a form of the present tense (indicative mood) of be 1

am

⁵

the internet domain name for

1. Armenia

A/M

⁶

abbreviation for

1. Air Marshal

am

⁷

abbreviation for

1. See AM
2. See a.m.

Am

⁸

the chemical symbol for

1. americium

AM

1. Abbreviation of amplitude modulation

Usage Note

The abbreviation a.m. for Latin ante merīdiem, meaning “before noon,” refers to the period from midnight until noon. One minute before noon is 11:59 a.m. One minute after noon is 12:01 p.m. Many people distinguish between noon and midnight by saying 12 noon and 12 midnight. Expressions combining a.m. with morning ( 6 a.m. in the morning ) and p.m. with afternoon, evening, or night ( 9 p.m. at night ) are redundant and occur most often in casual speech and writing. Both a.m. and p.m. sometimes appear in capital letters, especially in printed matter.

Word History and Origins

Origin of am¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English am, eam, eom; cognate with Gothic im, Old Norse, Armenian em, Old Irish am (from unattested esmi ), Attic Greek eimí, Aeolic Greek émmi, Doric Greek ēmí (all from prehistoric Greek esmi ), Hittite esmi, early Lithuanian esmì, Old Church Slavonic yesmĭ, Albanian jam (from unattested esmi ), Sanskrit ásmi, from unattested Proto-Indo-European ésmi, from root es- “to be” + -m 1st person singular + -i, present-time marker; is

Origin of am²

First recorded in 1935–40

Origin of am³

From Latin ante merīdiem

Origin of am⁴

A.M. ( def 2 ) from Latin Artium Magister

Word History and Origins

Origin of am¹

Latin: before noon

Origin of am²

Old English eam; related to Old Norse em, Gothic im, Old High German bim, Latin sum, Greek eimi, Sanskrit asmi

Example Sentences

With each passing year, I see and hear the patient’s spiral of worry: Am I getting more forgetful?

From Los Angeles Times

"Am I gutted? Of course. Am I surprised? Not in the least," he said.

From BBC

She won a legal battle in 2018 over the role she played in one of the biggest hits of the past decade, Scream And Shout by Will.I.Am and Britney Spears.

From BBC

In response, Mescal questioned whether anyone would realistically have time to take their phone out when being attacked, before Ronan said: "That's what girls have to think about all the time. Am I right ladies?"

From BBC

But online, some said the statue looked more like a zombie from the movie I Am Legend.

From BBC

Related Words

• dawn