EST
Abbreviation with 4 meanings
| Stands for | Eastern Standard Time |
|---|---|
| Meanings | 4 |
| Categories | Units & Measurements, Writing & Everyday, Geography & Places |
| Also written | Est, est. |
EST has four meanings. The most common are Eastern Standard Time (time zone) and Established (everyday); it can also stand for Estimated and Estate.
Meanings of EST at a glance
| # | EST stands for | Context |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eastern Standard Time | Units & Measurements › Time Zone |
| 2 | Established | Writing & Everyday › Everyday |
| 3 | Estimated | Writing & Everyday › Everyday |
| 4 | Estate | Geography & Places › Address |
1. Eastern Standard Time
Units & Measurements · Time Zone Abbreviations
Winter time of the eastern United States and Canada, five hours behind UTC, in effect from the first Sunday in November to the second Sunday in March. New York, Toronto, Washington and Miami use it, while Panama, Jamaica and Cancun keep it all year.
Example: Customer support is available 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. EST, Monday through Friday.
A frequent error is writing EST in summer, when the correct label is EDT (UTC−4); ET is safest when unsure. Mexico's state of Quintana Roo, home to Cancun, adopted year-round EST in 2015 to give tourists longer evenings. Australian sources once used EST for their own eastern time, now written AEST.
2. Established (est.)
Writing & Everyday · Everyday Abbreviations
Precedes the year a business, organization or institution was founded, often printed on signs, logos and packaging, as in "Est. 1892." It signals heritage and longevity.
Example: The bakery's hand-painted sign reads "Rossi & Sons, Est. 1947" above the front window.
Brand designers often use "Est." to evoke tradition, even for young businesses. The abbreviation is capitalized when it begins a label, and variants include Estd. and "Since." In time zones, EST means Eastern Standard Time, and est. can also mean "estimated," so context decides.
3. Estimated (est.)
Writing & Everyday · Everyday Abbreviations
Marks a figure as an estimate rather than an exact count, as in "est. cost" or "est. delivery." It appears on invoices, shipping notices, statistics and news graphics.
Example: Est. delivery: Thursday, March 6, between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m.
In statistics and science, estimates often carry a margin of error or confidence interval, which a bare "est." does not show. Genealogists also write "est." for an estimated birth or death date. Compare approx., which describes a value close to the one stated, and "Est. 1947," which means established.
4. Estate (Est)
Geography & Places · Address Abbreviations
Development name suggesting large homes on generous lots; USPS abbreviates Estate as EST and Estates as ESTS.
Example: Gate code required for deliveries to 11 Oak Est.
EST far more often means Eastern Standard Time, and est. means established or estimated.
Related abbreviations
More time zone abbreviations
- EAT – East Africa Time
- EDT – Eastern Daylight Time
- EEST – Eastern European Summer Time
- EET – Eastern European Time
- ET – Eastern Time
- GMT – Greenwich Mean Time
- GST – Gulf Standard Time
- HKT – Hong Kong Time
See all 64 time zone abbreviations →