1 million or 1,000,000 means one thousand thousands. But what abbreviation should you use in your communication?
The most common abbreviations for million are:
M is the abbreviation most commonly used in the popular press, informal writing, and by most people in the US. Example: $10M is the same as 10 million dollars.
MM is used as an abbreviation, especially in the financial sector. It’s often used in spreadsheets, accounting, and by economists. Example: “The FTC fined Google $24MM for breaking competition laws”
m is the most used abbreviation in the United Kingdom. Example: “The Government will help farmers with £50m in subsidies”
You shouldn’t use abbreviations in academic or official writing. Use abbreviations in informal scenarios like notes and unimportant communication where context exists.
Use the most common abbreviation: M. Example: “Helped the business increase sales by $2M using the internet”. If you are unsure whether to abbreviate, write full form: $2 million.
K is the most common abbreviation for thousand, M for million and B for billion. Example: “Every person will receive $2K out of the $1B relief fund”.
1 million bytes will be abbreviated as 1MB or one megabyte. 1 million pixels in a photo camera will be referred to as 1 Megapixel.
1 million watts abbreviates to 1MW or “megawatt” and in geology, one million years ago is often abbreviated to “1 mya”.
Million can be used as an adjective or as a noun. It comes from middle english “milioun”, from middle french “milion” and from early italian “millione”.
Million can sometimes be used as a metaphor or hyperbole: “I’ve walked a million miles”.