The most common abbreviation for million is a capital M, as in 3M views or a 2M budget. In banking and accounting you will also see MM, and in casual writing mil. Outside the United States, mn is popular in financial reports.
All of these stand for 1,000,000, a one followed by six zeros. Which one you pick depends on who is reading. A sales chart can use M, a bond trader expects MM, and a newspaper story usually writes the whole word.
Quick facts
Main abbreviation
M (5M = 5,000,000)Finance and accounting
MM (5MM = 5,000,000)Casual
mil, as in "a 2 mil contract"International reports
mn or mPeriod
None for M or MM; mil and mn usually noneNot to be confused with
Lowercase m for meter or milli
Each million abbreviation and where it fits
| Short form | Where you see it | Example |
|---|---|---|
| M | Charts, social posts, product counts, salaries | Downloads passed 4M |
| MM | Banking, accounting, sales pipelines, oil and gas | Deal size: 12MM |
| mil | Speech, texts, sports contracts in casual writing | He signed for 8 mil a year |
| mn | Financial reports in many other English speaking countries | Revenue rose to 450mn |
| m | Some reports, when there is no risk of meaning meters | Population 3.2m |
There is no single official million abbreviation for all writing. The safest choice for a general reader in the United States is M, or simply the word million.
Why finance writes MM for million
The double M comes from Roman numerals. In that system M is 1,000. Bankers and accountants long used M for thousand, so a thousand thousands became MM. You may still see M used for thousand on some invoices and price sheets in older trade practice, so a careful writer names the unit at the top of a table.
On a loan summary: "Facility: 25MM, 5 year term." A banker reads this as twenty five million. Someone outside finance might think it means 25 thousand thousands, which is the same number, but they may be unsure, so a footnote helps.
If your audience includes both groups, pick one form and add a note such as "figures in millions." For the thousand side of the story, K is the usual short form today, as in 50K.
What is the abbreviation for million in news and school writing?
Most news writing keeps the word and uses a numeral: "The city spent 4 million on repairs" or "4.5 million people." Headlines and charts may shorten it to M to save space. In a school report, write the word unless your teacher asks for something else.
- Running text: "The state has about 7 million residents."
- Table heading: "Population (millions)" with plain numbers below.
- Chart label: "7M" next to a bar.
- Science class: scientific notation writes it as 7 × 10 to the sixth power, a 7 followed by six zeros.
How to write the million abbreviation correctly
- No space or a thin space: 5M is the usual style. 5 M also appears, but stick with one form.
- Capital letters: use capital M or MM. A lowercase m can be read as meter, minute or milli.
- No period: M. with a dot is not standard.
- Plural: do not add s. Write 3M, not 3Ms.
- Decimals: 2.5M is clear and common. Avoid 2M500K.
Units are a separate matter. In the metric system the prefix mega, also written M, means one million of a unit: one megawatt is a million watts. That is related in meaning but belongs to measurement, not counting.
Million, billion and thousand side by side
| Number | Word | Common short forms |
|---|---|---|
| 1,000 | thousand | K, sometimes M in older finance |
| 1,000,000 | million | M, MM, mil, mn |
| 1,000,000,000 | billion | B, bn, sometimes BN |
| 1,000,000,000,000 | trillion | T, tn |
The pattern makes mix ups easy. If a report uses M for thousand and MM for million, a reader who expects the social media style can be off by a factor of a thousand. That is why a short key at the top of a table is worth the extra line.
Quick tips for using M
- For a general audience, use M or the word million.
- For bankers and accountants, MM is expected and clear.
- Label your table once instead of repeating the unit in every cell.
- Never use lowercase m next to measurements.
- In formal prose, spell it out: "two million."
Other everyday words with handy short forms are gathered on the common abbreviations page, including the abbreviation for quantity and the abbreviation for year.
Questions people ask
What is the abbreviation for million?
The most common one is M, as in 10M. Finance and accounting often use MM, and casual writing uses mil.
Why is million abbreviated MM?
It comes from Roman numerals, where M means 1,000. A thousand thousands is a million, so the trade wrote MM.
Is it 1M or 1 mil?
Both are understood. Use 1M in charts and written notes, and 1 mil only in casual speech or texts.
What does mn mean in a financial report?
It is a short form of million, common in reports from outside the United States. You might read "profit of 30mn."
Does M ever mean thousand?
Yes, in some older business and printing practice M stands for thousand, from the Roman numeral. Check the table key when you see M on an invoice or price sheet.