pp.
Abbreviation with 10 meanings
| Stands for | Pages |
|---|---|
| Meanings | 10 |
| Categories | Writing & Everyday, Medical, Science & Engineering, Sports, Arts & Entertainment, Religion |
| Also written | p.p., PP, pp |
pp. has ten meanings. The most common are Pages (citation and bibliography) and Postpartum (obstetrics & gynecology); it can also stand for Polypropylene, Power play, Per-protocol (analysis), Pulse pressure and Past participle, plus 3 more listed below.
Meanings of pp. at a glance
| # | pp. stands for | Context |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pages | Writing & Everyday › Citation and Bibliography |
| 2 | Postpartum | Medical › Obstetrics & Gynecology |
| 3 | Polypropylene | Science & Engineering › Chemistry |
| 4 | Power play | Sports › Ice Hockey |
| 5 | Per-protocol (analysis) | Medical › Medical Research |
| 6 | Pulse pressure | Medical › Patient Assessment |
| 7 | Past participle | Writing & Everyday › Grammar and Dictionary |
| 8 | Per procurationem (by agency, on behalf of) | Writing & Everyday › Latin |
| 9 | Pianissimo | Arts & Entertainment › Music |
| 10 | Parish priest | Religion › Religious Title |
1. Pages
Writing & Everyday · Citation and Bibliography Abbreviations
Refers to a range of pages or to several pages in citations and references, as in "pp. 45-67." Doubling the letter to mark a plural is a convention inherited from Latin manuscript abbreviations.
Example: Kahneman and Tversky's paper on prospect theory appears in Econometrica, vol. 47, pp. 263-291.
Page ranges take an en dash in typeset text. Chicago may shorten the second number of a range (pp. 263-91), while APA gives it in full. The same doubling produces ll. for lines, ff. for following pages and MSS for manuscripts. In grammar, pp. means past participle.
2. Postpartum (PP)
Medical · Obstetrics & Gynecology Abbreviations
Period after childbirth, traditionally the first six weeks (the puerperium), when the body recovers from pregnancy. Postpartum notes track bleeding, uterine involution, blood pressure, mood, breastfeeding and contraception planning.
Example: PP day 2 after NSVD: fundus firm below umbilicus, lochia moderate, breastfeeding well.
ACOG recommends contact with a clinician within three weeks after birth and a comprehensive visit by 12 weeks, rather than a single six-week check. Many serious complications, including preeclampsia and cardiomyopathy, can arise in the postpartum period. In cardiology PP means pulse pressure.
3. Polypropylene (PP)
Science & Engineering · Chemistry Abbreviations
Tough, heat-resistant plastic used for yogurt and takeout containers, bottle caps, car bumpers, syringes, carpet fibers and the melt-blown filter layer of face masks. It is light, survives repeated flexing and forms the "living hinges" of flip-top lids.
Example: These microwave-safe containers are made of PP, recycling code 5.
Giulio Natta produced crystalline polypropylene in 1954 using Ziegler-type catalysts, work recognized by the 1963 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. It is the second most produced plastic after polyethylene. Polypropylene is less dense than water, so it floats during sink-float separation at recycling plants.
4. Power play (PP)
Sports · Ice Hockey Abbreviations
Situation in which a team has more skaters on the ice because the opponent is serving a penalty, usually five against four. A power play from a minor penalty ends early if the advantaged team scores.
Example: The Oilers went 3-for-4 on the PP and won going away.
Power-play percentage is goals divided by opportunities; above 25 percent is elite. A five-on-three is a two-man advantage. Teams use dedicated power-play units, often called PP1 and PP2. In fantasy hockey, PPP counts power-play points.
5. Per-protocol (analysis) (PP)
Medical · Medical Research Abbreviations
Analysis restricted to participants who completed the study largely as planned, receiving the assigned treatment and following the protocol. It estimates the effect of actually taking the treatment but can be biased, because adherent participants may differ from the rest.
Example: Noninferiority was shown in both the ITT and PP populations.
Noninferiority trials report both ITT and per-protocol results, since an ITT analysis alone can bias toward finding no difference, and regulators expect conclusions to hold in both. In obstetrics PP means postpartum, and in vital signs pulse pressure.
6. Pulse pressure (PP)
Medical · Patient Assessment Abbreviations
Difference between systolic and diastolic blood pressure, normally about 40 mmHg in a resting adult. Changes in it give clues about stroke volume and arterial stiffness.
Example: BP 88/74, narrow PP of 14, tachycardic; suspect hypovolemia.
A narrowing pulse pressure can signal shock or cardiac tamponade, while a widening one is seen with aortic regurgitation, stiff arteries and raised intracranial pressure as part of Cushing's triad. In other medical contexts PP also means postprandial (after a meal).
7. Past participle
Writing & Everyday · Grammar and Dictionary Abbreviations
Grammatical label for the verb form used in perfect tenses and the passive voice, such as "eaten" or "walked." Dictionaries list it after irregular verbs, often with the past tense.
Example: go (v.) went (past), gone (pp.): "She has gone home for the day."
Regular verbs form the past participle with -ed, identical to the past tense, while irregular verbs often differ ("swim, swam, swum"). Some dictionaries write "past part." or "p.p." instead. In citations, pp. means "pages," and in British business letters p.p. means signing on someone's behalf.
8. Per procurationem (by agency, on behalf of) (p.p.)
Writing & Everyday · Latin Abbreviations
Written beside a signature when one person signs a letter on behalf of another, such as an assistant signing for a manager who is away. The convention belongs chiefly to British and Commonwealth business correspondence.
Example: The letter ended "pp Margaret Hughes," with her assistant's initials scrawled above the typed name.
Also written per pro. or pp without periods. Traditionalists argue that, by the Latin sense "through the agency of," p.p. should precede the name of the person actually signing, but common modern practice puts it before the absent person's name. Because of this ambiguity, business-writing guides suggest showing both names clearly. It is unrelated to pp. meaning "pages."
9. Pianissimo (pp)
Arts & Entertainment · Music Abbreviations
Dynamic marking telling performers to play very softly, quieter than piano (p). Written in lowercase bold italics below the staff.
Example: The final chord fades to pp as the strings hold the note.
Italian for "very soft". Composers sometimes extend it to ppp or more; Tchaikovsky wrote pppppp for the bassoon in the first movement of his Sixth Symphony. Dynamic markings are relative, so pp in a large hall still needs to carry.
10. Parish priest (PP)
Religion · Religious Title Abbreviations
Post-nominal used in Ireland, Britain and other Commonwealth countries for the priest who has canonical charge of a Catholic parish, the equivalent of a pastor in the US. It comes from the Latin parochus.
Example: Mass times are posted by Fr. Seamus Doyle PP at the back of the church.
Assistant priests in Ireland have traditionally used CC (Catholic curate) after their names. Some senior parish priests are also canons of the cathedral chapter, giving forms like "Canon Patrick Byrne PP". The abbreviation is usually written without periods.
Related abbreviations
More citation and bibliography abbreviations
- p. – Page
- para. – Paragraph
- pl. – Plate
- POD – Print on demand
- pref. – Preface
- pseud. – Pseudonym
- pt. – Part
- qtd. – Quoted
See all 58 citation and bibliography abbreviations →
More obstetrics & gynecology abbreviations
- PIH – Pregnancy-induced hypertension
- PMS – Premenstrual syndrome
- POI – Primary ovarian insufficiency
- POP – Pelvic organ prolapse
- PPH – Postpartum hemorrhage
- PPROM – Preterm prelabor rupture of membranes
- PROM – Prelabor rupture of membranes
- PTB – Preterm birth
See all 89 obstetrics & gynecology abbreviations →
This entry is for general education and is not medical advice. Abbreviation use varies between institutions; always confirm in context.