N.B.
Abbreviation with 4 meanings
| Stands for | Nota bene (note well) |
|---|---|
| Meanings | 4 |
| Categories | Writing & Everyday, Geography & Places, Science & Engineering |
| Also written | NB, Nb |
N.B. has four meanings. The most common are Nota bene (note well) (Latin) and New Brunswick (Canadian province and territory); it can also stand for Northbound and Niobium.
Meanings of N.B. at a glance
| # | N.B. stands for | Context |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nota bene (note well) | Writing & Everyday › Latin |
| 2 | New Brunswick | Geography & Places › Canadian Province and Territory |
| 3 | Northbound | Geography & Places › Direction |
| 4 | Niobium | Science & Engineering › Chemical Element |
1. Nota bene (note well)
Writing & Everyday · Latin Abbreviations
Flags a point the reader must not overlook, such as a warning, an exception or a crucial condition. It appears in instructions, handouts, legal documents, exam papers and margin annotations, usually at the start of a sentence or paragraph.
Example: N.B. Late submissions will not be accepted without a medical certificate.
Usually capitalized, with or without periods (N.B. or NB); lowercase n.b. is less common. Nota bene is a singular command addressed to one reader; the plural notate bene is rarely seen. Because readers learn to skim anything that looks like small print, editors advise reserving N.B. for genuinely critical points. When reading aloud, say "note" or "note well."
2. New Brunswick (NB)
Geography & Places · Canadian Province and Territory Abbreviations
Maritime province and one of the four founding members of Confederation in 1867, and the only province that is officially bilingual in English and French under its constitution. Fredericton is the capital, Moncton the largest city, and postal codes begin with E.
Example: The ferry to Grand Manan leaves from Blacks Harbour NB every few hours.
Canadian Press writes N.B. Nebraska used NB as its US postal code from 1963 until 1969, when it switched to NE partly to avoid confusion with New Brunswick. NB also means nota bene (note well) in writing and northbound in traffic reports.
3. Northbound (NB)
Geography & Places · Direction Abbreviations
Traffic and transit shorthand for vehicles traveling north, as in I-95 NB or the NB platform. Highway signs, traffic apps and radio reports use NB, SB, EB and WB constantly.
Example: A crash is blocking two lanes of I-5 NB near the airport.
Odd-numbered interstates run mainly north–south, so they use NB and SB. NB also abbreviates New Brunswick and nota bene.
4. Niobium (Nb)
Science & Engineering · Chemical Element Abbreviations
Superconducting magnets in MRI scanners and particle accelerators are wound from niobium-titanium wire, the best-known high-tech use of niobium (atomic number 41). Most niobium, however, goes in small additions to pipeline, automotive and structural steels, where it adds strength without hurting weldability.
Example: The MRI magnet is wound from Nb-Ti wire and must stay immersed in liquid helium.
Charles Hatchett found it in 1801 in a mineral sample from Connecticut and called it columbium (symbol Cb), after Columbia, a poetic name for America. Heinrich Rose in 1844 named it niobium after Niobe, daughter of Tantalus, because it so closely resembles tantalum. IUPAC adopted niobium in 1949, though some American metallurgists used columbium for decades. Brazil supplies most of the world's niobium.
Related abbreviations
More Latin abbreviations
- Id. – Idem (the same)
- inst. – Instante mense (this month)
- loc. cit. – Loco citato (in the place cited)
- M.O. – Modus operandi (method of operating)
- nem. con. – Nemine contradicente (with no one dissenting)
- op. cit. – Opere citato (in the work cited)
- p.a. – Per annum (per year)
- p.m. – Post meridiem (after midday)
See all 53 Latin abbreviations →