Meaning & use
nm
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Meanings
abbreviation
A unit of length equal to one billionth of a meter, used for very small distances.
Grammar: Used after a number, like other unit symbols: 5 nm, 450 nm.
Patterns
- a number + nm
- measured in nm
- nm-scale something
The chip is built with transistors only a few nm wide.
Visible light has wavelengths between about 400 nm and 700 nm.
The lab measures the film thickness in nm.
abbreviationinformal
In informal messages, a short answer meaning "not much".
Grammar: Stands alone as a reply; it is not used inside a longer sentence.
Patterns
- nm? — nm
- nm, u?
"Hey, what's up?" "nm, just watching TV."
She replied "nm" and went back to her homework.
Common combinations
- a few nm wide
- The wires in the new chip are only a few nm wide.
- measured in nm
- The wavelength of this laser is measured in nm.
- nm scale
- At the nm scale, the surface looks completely different.
- nm range
- These particles fall in the 10–100 nm range.
- reply "nm"
- He was busy, so he just replied "nm" to my message.
Synonyms and how they differ
- nanometer
- The full word; use it in formal science writing, while nm is the usual short form in tables and notes.
Word family
- nanometer noun
- The full name of the unit that nm stands for.
- nanoscale adjective
- Describing things measured in nanometers.
Commonly confused: nm or mm? nm or n/m?
nm vs mm
mm means millimeter, a million times longer than a nanometer; mixing them up changes a measurement by a huge amount.
nm vs n/m
n/m can mean newtons per meter, a unit of force per length, so it is not the same as nm.
Practice
A scientist writes that the virus is about 100 ___ across. Which unit fits best?
Choose one answer.
Viruses are extremely small, so nanometers (nm) are the right unit. Kilometers (km) are far too large, and kg and ml measure mass and volume, not length.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “nm”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.