Meaning & use
MP
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Meanings
abbreviationcountable
An elected politician who serves in a national parliament, especially in the UK.
Grammar: Countable; plural is MPs. Often used after a name or with a constituency: 'the MP for Bristol West'.
Patterns
- an MP for a place
- a local MP
- MPs vote on something
She became an MP after winning the seat in the last general election.
The local MP held a meeting to hear residents' concerns about the new road.
MPs from all parties debated the bill late into the night.
abbreviationcountable
A member of a military police force, responsible for keeping order among soldiers.
Grammar: Usually plural MPs; often written in full as 'military police' in formal contexts.
Patterns
- military police
- MPs arrested someone
The MPs on base are responsible for investigating minor offenses.
He was stopped by an MP for speeding on the military road.
abbreviationcountabletechnical
A unit of image resolution equal to one million pixels, used for digital cameras and screens.
Grammar: Common in technical descriptions of cameras and phones; often written with a number: '12 MP'.
Patterns
- number + MP
- a 12 MP camera
This smartphone has a 48 MP main camera.
The higher the MP count, the more detail the photo can capture.
Word forms
| plural | MPs |
|---|
Common combinations
- local MP
- I wrote to my local MP about the hospital closure.
- MP for
- She is the MP for Manchester Central.
- military police
- The military police were called to deal with the disturbance.
- MPs vote
- MPs will vote on the new law tomorrow.
Synonyms and how they differ
- parliamentarian
- More formal and general; it can refer to any experienced member of a parliament, not just an elected one.
- legislator
- A broader term for someone who makes laws, used in many countries; MP is specific to certain parliaments.
Word family
- MPs noun
- Plural form of MP, meaning more than one Member of Parliament.
Commonly confused: MP or MEP? MP or MLA?
MP vs MEP
Stands for Member of the European Parliament, not a national parliament.
MP vs MLA
Member of the Legislative Assembly, used in some regions instead of MP.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'MP' correctly?
Choose one answer.
Option 0 correctly uses MP to mean a Member of Parliament. Option 1 confuses MP with 'megabyte' or 'megapixel'; option 2 should be 'an MP' and refers to military police, but the grammar is off; option 3 uses 'of' instead of 'in' and is not the standard way to talk about camera resolution.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “MP”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.