p.m.
/piːˈɛm/
"p-m" is a 2-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“p.m.” is outside the top-ranked English vocabulary, used as an adverb - the kind of word writers most often double-check.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 4
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - In the 12-hour period from noon to midnight (the latter half of the day) when using the 12-hour clock.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | p.m. |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adverb |
| IPA | /piːˈɛm/ |
| Letters | 4 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “p.m.” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for p.m. is 4 letters long, classified as an adverb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /piːˈɛm/. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "In the 12-hour period from noon to midnight (the latter half of the day) when using the 12-hour clock.".
The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for p.m., typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.
Etymologically, the entry records: Abbreviation of post meridiem (“after noon”). The correct English form is p.m., spelled P-.-M-..
Definition
- 1In the 12-hour period from noon to midnight (the latter half of the day) when using the 12-hour clock.
Etymology
Abbreviation of post meridiem (“after noon”).
Synonyms
Antonyms
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "p.m."?
What does "p.m." mean?
How do you pronounce "p.m."?
What is the origin of the word "p.m."?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Using “p.m.”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is P-.-M-. - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /piːˈɛm/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.