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

A hotel employee who had been working that night told an investigator that guests had called the front desk to complain about two people causing a disturbance by the swimming pool about 1:30 a.m.

From Los Angeles Times

The jug of A Whole Lotta McRib Sauce will be available for online purchase only starting Nov. 25 at 10 a.m.

From Salon

But later than 9 a.m. is already too late for me.

From Los Angeles Times

County sheriff’s deputies and firefighters responded to a call for service in the 44500 block of Tabler Avenue in Lancaster at 1:27 a.m., authorities said.

From Los Angeles Times

Lottery tickets will be distributed outside the courthouse from 8 to 9 a.m.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• dawn