Minutes Abbreviations: min, mins, or m?
For scientific and technical unit notation, the accepted symbol for minute is “min.” SI-style unit symbols do not take a plural s or a period, so “5 min” stays “5 min.” In informal prose, words such as “mins” may appear, but they are not the SI unit-symbol form.
Use “min” as the standard unit symbol for minute: “1 min,” “5 min.” Do not pluralize the symbol to “mins” or replace it with “m,” which is the SI symbol for metre.
Key details
Further guidance
Avoid M
Do not use bare “m” for minute in SI-style measurement writing because “m” is the symbol for metre.
Pluralization
Unit symbols do not change for plural quantities, so write “5 min,” not “5 mins,” in SI-style notation.
Standard Form
Write “min” after a numerical value when using the standard unit symbol.
Sources and evidence
Sources are shown with the role they play in this guide. Historical or style-sensitive claims are kept within the evidence boundary described above.
- Writing with SI (Metric System) Units (opens in a new tab)National Institute of Standards and Technology · NIST unit-symbol rules, including no plural s on symbols