am
verb
1st person singular present indicative of be.
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am
1 American
[am, uhm, m]
/ æm, əm, m /
verb
Am
2
American
Symbol, Chemistry.
AM
3
American
abbreviation
-
Electronics. amplitude modulation: a method of impressing a signal on a radio carrier wave by varying its amplitude.
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Radio. a system of broadcasting by means of amplitude modulation.
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of, relating to, or utilizing such a system.
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Asian male.
Am.
4
American
abbreviation
-
America.
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American.
A/m
5
American
a.m.
6
American
abbreviation
-
before noon.
-
the period from midnight to noon, especially the period of daylight prior to noon.
Shall we meet Saturday a.m.?
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a morning newspaper, sometimes issued shortly before midnight.
A.M.
7
American
Am.
1
British
abbreviation
am
2
British
abbreviation
am
3
British
verb
A/M
4
British
abbreviation
a.m.
5
British
abbreviation
am
6
British
Am
7
British
symbol
AM
8
British
abbreviation
-
associate member
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Assembly Member (of the National Assembly of Wales)
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Albert Medal
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Master of Arts
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Also: am. amplitude modulation
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See a.m.
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Member of the Order of Australia
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Armenia (international car registration)
AM
Scientific
Usage
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.
Etymology
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; cf. is
Origin of AM3
First recorded in 1935–40
Origin of a.m.6
From Latin ante merīdiem
Origin of A.M.7
A.M. ( def. 2 ) from Latin Artium Magister
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
I just am someone that has that curiosity to push things forward.
From Los Angeles Times • May 14, 2026
Office veterans may wonder why I am giving such obvious advice, but there is a generational divide on the question of whether an email containing directions demands a response.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 14, 2026
"I made the biggest mistake of my life, and I am so deeply sorry for the hurt I have caused," Fleming wrote in a letter to the judge in April before his sentencing.
From BBC • May 13, 2026
"But I am concerned that authorities are making confident statements based on very limited data."
From Barron's • May 13, 2026
I am thousands of miles away in France, but somehow I am still here in Washington, and I have no choice but to run home.
From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
