vm abbreviation

Meanings

1. 1abbreviation

   a short way of writing a term that is made from its first letters, especially 'virtual machine' in computing or 'voicemail' in phone use

   Grammar: Written with capital letters and no periods in modern use; in speech say the two letter names: /ˌviː ˈem/.

   Patterns

   • VM stands for ...
   • run a VM
   • set up a VM

   The instructions say to create a new VM before installing the software.

   If you missed the call, check your VM for a message.

   In this article, VM means virtual machine unless we say otherwise.

2. 2abbreviationtechnical

   used in some technical or medical writing for 'ventilator management' or similar specialized phrases, depending on the field

   Grammar: This sense appears mainly in professional documents; the exact full form depends on the subject area.

   Patterns

   • VM protocol
   • VM settings

   The hospital's VM guidelines were updated last month.

   The engineer checked the VM settings before the test.

Common combinations

VM stands for

In this manual, VM stands for virtual machine.

run a VM

You can run a VM on your laptop to test the program.

check your VM

I left you a message, so check your VM when you can.

VM host

The VM host crashed and all the test environments went down.

Synonyms and how they differ

virtual machine

Use the full term in formal writing or when your reader may not know the abbreviation.

voicemail

This is the full word for the phone-message sense; it is clearer in everyday speech.

Word family

virtual machine noun

a computer system that behaves like a separate computer, often shortened to VM

Commonly confused: vm abbreviation or V.M.? vm abbreviation or v.m.?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “vm abbreviation”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

Explore more words