# am

Pronunciation: say "AM" /æm/

## Verb

1. First-person singular present indicative of be. — first-person singular present indicative of be
   - Simple: Present tense of be, used with I. Use it to talk about yourself.
   - _I am in the garage if you need me._
   - _Am I the only one who heard that noise?_

## Adverb · AM

Pronunciation: say "ay-EM" /ˌeɪˈɛm/

2. Alternative form of a.m.: after a clock time, showing that it falls between midnight and noon. — Alternative form of a.m. (“before noon”).
   - Simple: Another spelling of a.m.: in the morning, before noon.
   - _Check-in opens at 6 AM, two hours before the first flight._
   - _The fire alarm went off at 2:30 AM and emptied the whole building._
11. Short for anno mundi: in the year of the world, used for years counted from the traditional date of creation, as in the Hebrew calendar. — Initialism of anno mundi
   - Simple: Short for anno mundi: used for years counted from the creation of the world, as in the Jewish calendar.
   - _The wedding contract is dated the fifth of Adar, 5785 AM._
   - _The synagogue's foundation stone records its laying in 5650 AM._

## Noun · AM

3. Short for amplitude modulation: a way of sending radio signals by varying the strength of the carrier wave, or radio broadcast this way, as opposed to FM. — Initialism of amplitude modulation; contrasted with FM. (pronounced: say "ay-EM" /ˌeɪˈɛm/)
   - Simple: Short for amplitude modulation. It is often used for a kind of radio that is different from FM.
   - _AM signals travel farther at night, so distant stations come in after dark._
   - _The station broadcasts every home game on both AM and FM._
4. The title Member of the Order of Australia, or a person who holds it. (pronounced: say "ay-EM" /ˌeɪˈɛm/)
   - Simple: A person who has been made a Member of the Order of Australia, or that title.
   - _She was appointed an AM for her work with rural hospitals._
   - _The report was signed by Professor Helen Ward AM, honored for her service to Australian medicine._
5. On chord charts and in other written music, the symbol Am, standing for an A minor chord.
   - Simple: The short sign for an A minor chord, used in music written for guitar and other instruments.
   - _The whole song uses just three chords: C, Am, and G._
   - _Strum Am for two bars, then switch to F for the chorus._
6. Short for Master of Arts: a graduate degree, written AM at some universities, following the Latin word order artium magister. — Initialism of Master of Arts. (pronounced: say "ay-EM" /ˌeɪˈɛm/)
   - Simple: Short for Master of Arts: a degree you can earn after a first college degree.
   - _She earned an AM in history before starting her doctorate._
   - _The faculty page lists his degrees as AB, AM and PhD._
8. Short for additive manufacturing: making objects by building them up layer by layer from a digital design, as in 3D printing. — Initialism of additive manufacturing. (pronounced: say "ay-EM" /ˌeɪˈɛm/)
   - Simple: Short for additive manufacturing: making things by building them up in layers, as in 3D printing.
   - _Before each build, technicians sieve the AM powder to remove clumps._
   - _The supplier now makes its smaller brackets by AM instead of cutting them from solid metal._
10. Short for Assembly Member: a member of the London Assembly or, formerly, the Welsh Assembly, with AM written after the person's name. *(UK)* (pronounced: say "ay-EM" /ˌeɪˈɛm/)
   - Simple: Short for Assembly Member: a member of the London Assembly, or formerly the Welsh Assembly.
   - _Every AM in the chamber voted on the new transport bill._
   - _The leaflet came from Gareth Price AM, who had represented the valley for ten years._

## Symbol · Am

7. The chemical symbol for the element americium, used in formulas, tables and lab results.
   - Simple: The two letters chemists write as a short name for americium.
   - _Am-241 decays by emitting alpha particles, which is why ionization smoke detectors use it._
   - _The spent fuel was tested for Pu, Am and other heavy elements._

## Contraction

9. Short for I am: used in casual writing and some dialects, with the word I left out. *(colloquial)* — Contraction of I am.
   - Simple: Short for I am, with I left out in casual writing and some dialects.
   - _Sorry, am running late, be there in ten._
   - _Am not sure he's coming tonight, to be honest._

## Other meanings

- (noun) Short for automated mapping: the computerized drawing of maps, paired with facilities management in AM/FM systems used to map utility networks.

## Origin

The ancestry of am is traced to Proto-Indo-European *h₁ésmi, a reconstructed form meaning "I am, I exist." This developed into Proto-Germanic *immi, *izmi, forms of the verb "to be," followed by Old English eam, eom ("am") and Middle English am, em. Gothic im, Ancient Greek eimí and Albanian jam are related words, all meaning "am".

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/am (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).