p.m.

See also: ㏘, p. m., pm, .pm, P. M., P.M., PM, and Pm

㏘ U+33D8, ㏘ SQUARE PM ← ㏗ [U+33D7] CJK Compatibility ㏙ → [U+33D9]

English

Alternative forms

• PM, P. M., P.M., p. m.
• pm (for "post meridiem")
• P, p (for "post meridiem", chiefly US)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /piːˈɛm/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛm

Etymology 1

Abbreviation of post meridiem (“after noon”).

Adverb

p.m. (not comparable)

1. (used after the hour) In the 12-hour period from noon to midnight (the latter half of the day) when using the 12-hour clock.
   • 1971, U.S. Department of Commerce, Hourly Precipitation Data: Ohio, page 14:

     HOURLY PRECIPITATION [...] 9 PM THROUGH 12 PM (MIDNIGHT) ZERO DAILY TOTAL

   • 2007, Khurana Rohit, Number Game 4, page 144:

     We never say 12 a.m. or 12 p.m. It's either 12 midnight or 12 noon, respectively.

   • 2009, Robert Bill, Medical Mathematics and Dosage Calculations for Veterinary Professionals, page 348:

     The 12-hour clock uses A.M. for the morning hours of midnight (12:00 A.M.) to almost noon (11:59 A.M.) and the P.M. designation for the hours from noon (12:00 P.M.) to almost midnight (11:59 PM).

   • 2015, Arhlene A. Flowers, Global Writing for Public Relations, page 141:

     The 12-hour clock, which is used in the U.S., Canada, and a few other countries, divides time into two cycles: a.m. (ante meridiem, Latin for before midday) from midnight, 12 a.m., to 11:59 a.m.; and p.m. (post meridiem, Latin for after midday) from noon, 12 p.m., to 11:59 p.m.

   • 2016, VOA Learning English (public domain)

     Anna. — Yes, Ms. Weaver. — Are you busy? — Yes, Ms. Weaver. I am busy. — My office. 5:00 p.m. — 5:00 p.m.

   • 2022 April 4, Susannah Cullinane, Holly Yan, Stella Chan and Cheri Mossburg, “All 6 victims killed in the Sacramento mass shooting are identified as police arrest a suspect”, in CNN‎:

     CNN is seeking comment from legal representation for Martin. He is scheduled to appear in court Tuesday at 3 p.m. PT (6 p.m. ET).

   • 2023 August 3, Yeh Chen, Bernadette Hsiao, “4 found without vital signs after vehicle plunges into rural Taoyuan valley”, in Focus Taiwan‎, archived from the original on 03 August 2023, Society‎:

     The Taoyuan City Fire Department said that two others, a man and a woman, were pulled from the vehicle alive after rescuers were called to the scene of the accident near Sbunaw Bridge in Fuxing District at 12:27 p.m.

   • 2025 August 4, Bryan Robinson, “The ‘9-9-6 Work Schedule’ Could Be Coming To Your Workplace Soon”, in Forbes‎, archived from the original on 7 August 2025:

     Some AI startups are taking the workplace back to the dark ages, adopting the Chinese “9-9-6 work schedule” in which employees toil from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. six days a week from Monday to Saturday.

Usage notes

• As seen in the quotes above, "12 p.m." has sometimes been used to mean either noon or midnight. However, the National Institute of Standards and Technology contends that those uses are incorrect.
• Some argue that it should not be used in English as a noun meaning "afternoon" on account of the fact that it is an abbreviation for a Latin adverbial phrase.

Synonyms

• in the afternoon

Antonyms

• a.m.
• in the forenoon

Translations

after noon

Arabic: م (ar) (m), مَسَاءً (masāʔan) Chinese: Mandarin: 下午 (zh) (xiàwǔ) (afternoon); 晚上 (zh) (wǎnshang) (evening, night) Czech: odpoledne (cs), večer (cs) Esperanto: ptm., p.t.m. Finnish: p.m., iltapäivällä, ip. (fi), j. pp. (fi) French: après-midi (fr), de l'après-midi (literally “in the afternoon”), du soir (literally “in the evening”), de la nuit (literally “in the night”) Georgian: ნაშუადღევს (našuadɣevs) German: nachmittags (de), am Nachmittag Greek: μ.μ. (el) (m.m.) Hebrew: אחרי הצהריים Icelandic: síðdegis (is), eftir hádegi (is), e.h. (is), p.m. Italian: p.m., pomeridiano (it), di pomeriggio Japanese: 午後 (ja) (ごご, gogo) Kazakh: түстен кейін (tüsten keiın) Korean: 오후 (ko) (ohu), 오후에 (ko) (ohue) Mongolian: ҮХ (ÜX) Navajo: tł'éeʼgo neeznáágóó oolkiłgo... (10 p.m. in the future), tłʼéeʼgo neeznáadi oolkił yę́ędą́ą́ʼ... (10 p.m. in the past) Persian: ب.ظ (b.z) Portuguese: p.m. Russian: по́сле полу́дня (pósle polúdnja), пополу́дни (ru) (popolúdni) (afternoon), дня (ru) (dnja) (afternoon), ве́чера (ru) (véčera) (evening, night) Scottish Gaelic: f (feasgar) Spanish: p. m. (es), PM Swedish: em (sv) Tagalog: n.h., n.g. Tigrinya: ድሕር ሰዒት (dəḥr säʿit) Turkish: ÖS. Welsh: y.p., y.h.

Etymology 2

Abbreviation of post mortem (“after death”).

Adverb

p.m. (not comparable)

1. after death

Etymology 3

Abbreviation of palm muting.

Noun

p.m. (not comparable)

1. (music) Abbreviation of palm muting.

Anagrams

• MP, mp, Mp, m.p., M.P.

Portuguese

Adjective

p.m. (invariable, not comparable)

1. p.m. (after 12 o’clock)

   Antonyms: a.m., da manhã

Synonyms

• da tarde / da noite (depois do meio dia)