Meaning & use

ante meridiem

phrase·Advanced

A Latin phrase meaning 'before noon', abbreviated as a.m. and used to mark times in the morning.

See it in a sentence

The meeting is scheduled for nine o'clock ante meridiem, well before the lunch break.

Formal invitations sometimes spell out ante meridiem instead of using the abbreviation a.m.

A note on using this word

In everyday writing, almost everyone uses the abbreviation 'a.m.' rather than spelling out 'ante meridiem' in full.

Words with a similar meaning

This term is best learned through its definition and examples.

Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.

Words with an opposite meaning

post meridiem

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