Abbreviation for Million: M, MM or Mil, and Which to Use

By , founder of CVBooster · Published · Updated

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The abbreviation for million is M in most business writing and on resumes, as in $2.5M, while MM is the convention in finance and accounting, as in $2.5MM, and British writing often uses a lowercase m, as in £2.5m. The one constraint is consistency: pick one form and use it for every figure in the same document, and spell out "million" in formal prose when there is room. Cambridge Dictionary lists the written abbreviation of million as a lowercase m. Six resume examples follow. Written by Mustafa Tarabya, who hired for his own company, read every application himself and now writes CVBooster's guides.

You grew revenue by $1.2 million and now you are stuck on how to write it. Somewhere a finance director is about to read "$1.2MM" and nod, and a marketing manager is about to read it and think it is a typo. The answer depends on which one is reading.

The abbreviation for million on a resume

Resume bullets using M for million, written consistently, complete example, 58 words

Resume bullets using M for million, written consistently (58 words)

- Grew annual revenue in the Northeast region from $4.8M to $6.1M in two years - Managed a $2.5M marketing budget across paid search, events and partner programs - Closed a $1.2M multi-year contract with a regional hospital network, the largest in the team's history - Cut freight spend by $350K by consolidating carriers from nine to four

Every figure uses the same style: dollar sign, numeral, capital M or K, no space. A reader takes in the numbers without stopping, which is the whole point of abbreviating.

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The main abbreviations for million, and where each is used

Which abbreviation to use on a resume

Million abbreviation for a finance resume

Complete Finance resume bullets using MM for million example, 45 words, laid out as it would sit in the application form

Finance resume bullets using MM for million (45 words)

- Built the three-statement model for a $45MM acquisition of a regional distributor - Managed a $120MM loan portfolio across 60 middle-market borrowers - Reduced days sales outstanding, releasing $8.5MM of working capital - Prepared the $300MM annual budget consolidation for the CFO and board

In a finance context MM is read correctly at a glance. Use it only if the employer's own reports or job adverts use it; otherwise, M is safer.

Writing millions in a cover letter

Complete Cover letter sentences with million spelled out example, 38 words, laid out as it would sit in the application form

Cover letter sentences with million spelled out (38 words)

In my current role I manage a $2.5 million marketing budget and report results to the vice president of sales each quarter.

Last year my team closed $6.1 million in new business, the strongest result in the region.

Spell out "million" in sentences and keep the numeral: "$2.5 million", not "two and a half million dollars", unless the number starts a sentence.

Millions that are not money

The same abbreviations work for users, units and views, as long as the unit is clear.

Complete Resume bullets with non-money millions example, 42 words, laid out as it would sit in the application form

Resume bullets with non-money millions (42 words)

- Launched an onboarding flow used by 2.4M new customers in its first year - Managed a warehouse shipping 1.8M units a year across 400 retail stores - Grew the company YouTube channel to 3M total views with a 12-video tutorial series

Mistakes with the million abbreviation

Million abbreviation mistakes and the fixed versions, complete example, 64 words

Million abbreviation mistakes and the fixed versions (64 words)

Wrong: Managed a $2.5 m budget. (Space, and lowercase m on a US resume.) Right: Managed a $2.5M budget.

Wrong: Grew sales from $800K to $1.4 million. Right: Grew sales from $800K to $1.4M.

Wrong: Saved $3MM in costs (on a marketing resume read by non-finance managers). Right: Saved $3M in costs.

Wrong: Handled 2 mil transactions. Right: Processed 2M transactions a year.

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Billion and thousand, for completeness

Resume bullets mixing thousands, millions and billions consistently, complete example, 39 words

Resume bullets mixing thousands, millions and billions consistently (39 words)

- Managed vendor contracts worth $750K a year across three facilities - Grew the regional sales pipeline from $3.2M to $5.0M in four quarters - Supported the integration of a $1.4B acquisition as part of the finance transition team

K, M and B side by side, each with a dollar sign, a numeral and no space. The reader can compare the three figures without converting anything.

Numbers are only as strong as the bullet around them. Our resume action verbs help you start each line, and our guide to ATS keywords from real job ads shows which words should sit next to the figures. For the general spelling and style questions around resumes, see how to spell resume. CVBooster checks each bullet against the posting: filling any of the 99 templates is free after you sign in, with the ATS score and gap list; the PDF and Word download is Pro.

Frequently asked questions

What is the abbreviation for million?

The most common abbreviation is M, as in $5M. In finance and accounting, MM is standard, as in $5MM, from the Roman numeral for a thousand. British writing often uses a lowercase m, as in £5m. Some international reports use mn or mln. Choose one form and use it consistently.

Is it M or MM for million on a resume?

Use M on most resumes, because it is the form nearly every reader understands. Use MM only for finance, banking, accounting or private equity roles, where readers use it themselves. Whichever you choose, write every figure in the same style and pair it with K for thousands.

How do you write 1.5 million in short form?

Write 1.5M, or $1.5M for money, with no space between the number and the M. In finance documents, $1.5MM is also correct. In a sentence in a cover letter, write $1.5 million. Avoid 1.5 mil on a resume, because it reads as informal.

Why does MM mean million?

In Roman numerals M stands for a thousand, so MM can be read as a thousand thousands, which is a million. Finance and accounting adopted MM to avoid confusing M for a thousand with M for a million. Outside those fields, M alone usually means million, which is why MM can look odd to other readers.

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