GM
Abbreviation with 10 meanings
| Stands for | General Motors |
|---|---|
| Meanings | 10 |
| Categories | Organizations & Companies, Business & Finance, Texting & Internet Slang, Science & Engineering, Units & Measurements, Technology & Computing, Military, Geography & Places |
| Also written | gm |
GM has ten meanings. The most common are General Motors (company and brand) and General manager (job title); it can also stand for Good morning, Genetically modified, Gross margin, Game master and Gram (older recipe form), plus 3 more listed below.
Meanings of GM at a glance
| # | GM stands for | Context |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | General Motors | Organizations & Companies › Company and Brand |
| 2 | General manager | Business & Finance › Job Title |
| 3 | Good morning | Texting & Internet Slang › Texting and Chat |
| 4 | Genetically modified | Science & Engineering › Biology |
| 5 | Gross margin | Business & Finance › Accounting |
| 6 | Game master | Texting & Internet Slang › Gaming Slang |
| 7 | Gram (older recipe form) | Units & Measurements › Cooking |
| 8 | Golden master | Technology & Computing › Software |
| 9 | Gunner's Mate | Military › US Navy and Coast Guard Rating |
| 10 | Gambia | Geography & Places › Country Code |
1. General Motors
Organizations & Companies · Company and Brand Abbreviations
American automaker that sells vehicles under the Chevrolet, GMC, Buick and Cadillac brands. Headquartered in Detroit, Michigan.
Example: GM said it will build more hybrids alongside its electric trucks.
Founded in 1908 in Flint, Michigan, by William C. Durant. For much of the twentieth century GM was the world's largest automaker. It went through a government-backed bankruptcy in 2009, closing brands such as Pontiac, Saturn and Hummer (later revived as a GMC model). In business GM also means general manager.
2. General manager
Business & Finance · Job Title Abbreviations
Manager with overall responsibility for a business unit, location or property, including its revenue, costs, staff and operations, as opposed to a functional manager who runs a single department. GMs are typical in hotels, restaurants, car dealerships and divisions of large companies.
Example: The hotel's GM approved overtime for housekeeping during the conference week.
In professional sports, the GM is the executive who builds the roster, makes trades and hires coaches. A GM role is often seen as preparation for the C-suite because it combines profit-and-loss responsibility with leadership of several functions. In accounting, GM means gross margin, and in the auto industry it refers to General Motors.
3. Good morning
Texting & Internet Slang · Texting and Chat Abbreviations
Morning greeting in texts and group chats. Around 2021 it also became a ritual greeting on crypto and NFT Twitter, posted regardless of the writer's time zone.
Example: gm everyone, coffee's ready and the sun is finally out
On crypto Twitter, posting "gm" and replying "gm" signaled community optimism, and the habit spread to tech and startup circles. Outside chat, GM usually means General Motors, a general manager or a game master in role-playing games; the lowercase "gm" at the start of a message signals the greeting.
4. Genetically modified
Science & Engineering · Biology Abbreviations
Describes an organism, crop or food produced using genetic engineering, as in GM crops or GM mosquitoes. The term is especially common in British and European usage, where "GM food" is the usual phrase in news and regulation.
Example: Field trials of GM wheat engineered for higher yield began in Hertfordshire.
GM and GE (genetically engineered) are used largely interchangeably, while "biotech crops" is favored by the seed industry. England's Precision Breeding Act of 2023 created a separate category for gene-edited organisms whose changes could have arisen by traditional breeding.
5. Gross margin
Business & Finance · Accounting Abbreviations
Gross profit expressed as a percentage of revenue, showing the share of each sales dollar left after paying direct production costs. Software businesses can exceed 70 percent, while grocery retailers typically run at roughly 20 to 30 percent.
Example: Gross margin, abbreviated GM in the board pack, slipped 150 basis points on higher freight costs.
GM is a key indicator of pricing power and cost control, and changes are usually explained by mix, pricing, input costs and currency. It differs from markup, which divides profit by cost rather than by price: a 50 percent markup equals a 33 percent gross margin. In job titles, GM means general manager.
6. Game master
Texting & Internet Slang · Gaming Slang Abbreviations
Person who runs a tabletop role-playing game, narrating the story and controlling the world, or a staff member who moderates an online game. The generic term behind D&D's "dungeon master."
Example: The GM ruled that my rope trick counts, so we escape the pit.
Most tabletop RPGs other than D&D use GM, sometimes with their own titles such as "Keeper" in Call of Cthulhu. In MMORPGs, GMs are staff who handle reports and run events. In greetings, gm means good morning, and in business general manager.
7. Gram (older recipe form) (gm)
Units & Measurements · Cooking Abbreviations
An older or informal abbreviation for gram, common in Indian recipes, older British cookbooks, nutrition charts and some packaging. The internationally standard symbol is g; gm survives by habit and because a lone g can look like a stray letter next to a number.
Example: Add 250 gm paneer cubes and simmer for five minutes in the gravy.
NIST and metric style guides treat gm, gms and grm as nonstandard and recommend g with no s for plurals. In Indian English, gm and gms remain widespread on menus, sweets-shop price boards and recipe blogs. Do not confuse gm with gr, the grain, a much smaller apothecary weight.
8. Golden master
Technology & Computing · Software Abbreviations
Final build of software approved for release, especially in Apple's terminology for iOS and macOS versions given to developers shortly before public launch. Apple replaced the label with "Release Candidate" in 2020.
Example: Developers got the iOS 13 GM right after the September iPhone event.
The name comes from the master disc used to press retail CDs, sometimes literally gold-colored. Game studios still say a title has "gone gold" when the final build is sent for manufacturing or platform certification. Outside software, GM most often refers to General Motors or a general manager.
9. Gunner's Mate
Military · US Navy and Coast Guard Rating Abbreviations
Sailors who operate and maintain naval guns, missile launchers such as the Mark 41 vertical launching system, small arms and ammunition magazines. They also run the ship's armory and train crews in weapons handling.
Example: GM2 Patterson qualified the ship's security force on the M4 and M9 range Thursday.
The rating badge shows crossed cannons. Gunner's mates also handle pyrotechnics and serve on visit, board, search and seizure teams. In the automotive world GM means General Motors, and in gaming it means game master, so naval usage typically includes a pay grade, as in GM1.
10. Gambia
Geography & Places · Country Code Abbreviations
Mainland Africa's smallest country, the Gambia is a narrow strip along the Gambia River surrounded by Senegal. Banjul is the capital, and GMB the alpha-3 code.
Example: Birdwatching tours in GM follow the river inland from Banjul.
The country's official name includes the article: the Republic of the Gambia. GM also abbreviates general manager, genetically modified and General Motors.
Related abbreviations
More company and brand abbreviations
- EY – Ernst & Young
- FIAT – Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino
- GE – General Electric
- GEICO – Government Employees Insurance Company
- GMC – General Motors Truck Company
- GNC – General Nutrition Centers
- GSK – GlaxoSmithKline
- H&M – Hennes & Mauritz
See all 116 company and brand abbreviations →