Meanings
p.m.1
alternative PM · alternative P. M. · alternative P.M. · alternative p. m. · alternative pm · alternative US P · alternative US p
- not comparableIn the 12-hour period from noon to midnight (the latter half of the day) when using the 12-hour clock.
HOURLY PRECIPITATION … 9 PM THROUGH 12 PM (MIDNIGHT) ZERO DAILY TOTAL
1971, U.S. Department of Commerce, Hourly Precipitation Data: Ohio, page 145 more examples
We never say 12 a.m. or 12 p.m. It's either 12 midnight or 12 noon, respectively.
2007, Khurana Rohit, Number Game 4, page 144The 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).
2009, Robert Bill, Medical Mathematics and Dosage Calculations for Veterinary Professionals, page 348The 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.
2015, Arhlene A. Flowers, Global Writing for Public Relations, page 141Anna. — Yes, Ms. Weaver. — Are you busy? — Yes, Ms. Weaver. I am busy. — My office. 5:00 p.m. — 5:00 p.m.
2016, VOA Learning English (public domain)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).
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, archived from the original on 01 Aug 2022Synonyms: in the afternoon
p.m.2
alternative PM · alternative P. M. · alternative P.M. · alternative p. m. · alternative pm · alternative US P · alternative US p
- not comparableafter death
p.m.3
alternative PM · alternative P. M. · alternative P.M. · alternative p. m. · alternative pm · alternative US P · alternative US p
- abbreviationnot comparableentertainmentAbbreviation of palm muting.
P.M.4
- alternativeAlternative spelling of p.m..
By 7:00 P.M. we had traveled 210 kilometers and reached this place, called Nei-chiang, a small inland city boasting electric lights but without other modern conveniences.
1938 April 5, J. Marvin Weller, edited by Harriet Weller, Caravan Across China, San Francisco, CA: March Hare Publishing, published 1984, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 3671 more example
We left Chefoo at 2.30 P.M. on Monday, 15th December, and had a pretty rough bit of road immediately after we started. Going up a steep pass, almost due south of Temple Hill, made the mules blow in a most unsatisfactory manner.
1896, Alex Armstrong, In a Mule Litter to the Tomb of Confucius, James Nisbet & Co., →OCLC, page 5 - alternativeAlternative spelling of PM.
Synonyms & antonyms
adverbIn the 12-hour period from noon to midnight (the latter half of the day) when using the 12-hour clock.
More synonyms by meaning
adverbbetween noon and midnight
adverbbetween noon and midnight
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
Translations
Arabic م, مَسَاءً
- مafter noon
- مَسَاءً (masāʔan)after noon
Chinese Mandarin 下午, 晚上
- 下午 (xiàwǔ)after noon
- 晚上 (wǎnshang)after noon
Czech odpoledne, večer
- odpoledneafter noon
- večerafter noon
Esperanto ptm., p.t.m.
- ptm.after noon
- p.t.m.after noon
Finnish p.m., iltapäivällä
- p.m.after noon
- iltapäivälläafter noon
- ip.after noon
- j. pp.after noon
French après-midi, de l'après-midi
- après-midiafter noon
- de l'après-midiafter noon
- du soirafter noon
- de la nuitafter noon
German nachmittags, am Nachmittag
- nachmittagsafter noon
- am Nachmittagafter noon
Greek μ.μ.
- μ.μ. (m.m.)after noon
Hebrew אחרי הצהריים
- אחרי הצהרייםafter noon
Icelandic síðdegis, eftir hádegi
- síðdegisafter noon
- eftir hádegiafter noon
- e.h.after noon
- p.m.after noon
Italian p.m., pomeridiano
- p.m.after noon
- pomeridianoafter noon
- di pomeriggioafter noon
Japanese 午後
- 午後 (gogo)after noon
Korean 오후, 오후에
- 오후 (ohu)after noon
- 오후에 (ohue)after noon
Persian ب.ظ
- ب.ظ (b.z)after noon
Portuguese p.m.
- p.m.after noon
Russian по́сле полу́дня, пополу́дни
- по́сле полу́дня (pósle polúdnja)after noon
- пополу́дни (popolúdni)after noon
- дня (dnja)after noon
- ве́чера (véčera)after noon
Scottish Gaelic f (feasgar)
- f (feasgar)after noon
Spanish p. m., PM
- p. m.after noon
- PMafter noon
Swedish em
- emafter noon
Tagalog n.h., n.g.
- n.h.after noon
- n.g.after noon
Turkish ÖS.
- ÖS.after noon
Welsh y.p., y.h.
- y.p.after noon
- y.h.after noon
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with p.m.
All rhymes →Cite this entry
p.m.. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/p.m.
“p.m..” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/p.m.. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “p.m.,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/p.m..
Source: p.m. on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.