CMB
Abbreviation with 3 meanings
| Stands for | Cosmic microwave background |
|---|---|
| Meanings | 3 |
| Categories | Science & Engineering, Texting & Internet Slang, Military |
CMB has three meanings. The most common are Cosmic microwave background (astronomy & Space) and Call me back (texting and chat); it can also stand for Combat Medical Badge.
Meanings of CMB at a glance
| # | CMB stands for | Context |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cosmic microwave background | Science & Engineering › Astronomy & Space |
| 2 | Call me back | Texting & Internet Slang › Texting and Chat |
| 3 | Combat Medical Badge | Military › Military Award and Decoration |
1. Cosmic microwave background
Science & Engineering · Astronomy & Space Abbreviations
Faint microwave radiation filling the entire sky, the cooled afterglow of the hot early universe released about 380,000 years after the Big Bang. Its temperature is about 2.725 kelvins, and tiny fluctuations in it reveal the age, composition and geometry of the cosmos.
Example: Planck's map of the CMB shows temperature variations of only about one part in 100,000.
Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson discovered the CMB by accident in 1964-1965 with a horn antenna at Bell Labs in New Jersey and received the 1978 Nobel Prize in Physics. A small fraction of the static on old analog televisions came from the CMB. Missions such as COBE, WMAP and Planck mapped it in increasing detail.
2. Call me back
Texting & Internet Slang · Texting and Chat Abbreviations
Request to return a phone call, typically sent after a missed call or when a topic is easier to handle by voice.
Example: Missed you twice, cmb when you're out of the meeting.
Common in the SMS era alongside PCM (please call me). Clear but brusque; adding "pls" softens it. Its use has declined as voice notes and messaging apps replaced many phone calls among younger people.
3. Combat Medical Badge
Military · Military Award and Decoration Abbreviations
Recognition for US Army medical personnel assigned to ground combat units who perform medical duties while engaged in active ground combat, from medics to physicians.
Example: The medic earned his CMB treating casualties during the battle for Ramadi.
Established in 1945 and retroactive to December 1941. Navy corpsmen serving with Marines are not eligible; they may receive the Combat Action Ribbon instead. Stars denote awards for multiple wars.
Related abbreviations
More astronomy & Space abbreviations
- ALMA – Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array
- AU – Astronomical unit
- BBN – Big Bang nucleosynthesis
- BH – Black hole
- CME – Coronal mass ejection
- CNSA – China National Space Administration
- COBE – Cosmic Background Explorer
- CSM – Command and Service Module
See all 83 astronomy & Space abbreviations →