ML
Abbreviation with 6 meanings
| Stands for | Milliliter |
|---|---|
| Meanings | 6 |
| Categories | Units & Measurements, Technology & Computing, Geography & Places, Texting & Internet Slang, Education & Academia, Sports |
| Also written | mL |
ML has six meanings. The most common are Milliliter (metric and SI unit) and Machine learning (artificial intelligence); it can also stand for Mali, Male lead, Multilingual learner and Moneyline.
Meanings of ML at a glance
| # | ML stands for | Context |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Milliliter | Units & Measurements › Metric and SI Unit |
| 2 | Machine learning | Technology & Computing › Artificial Intelligence |
| 3 | Mali | Geography & Places › Country Code |
| 4 | Male lead | Texting & Internet Slang › Fandom and Fan Fiction |
| 5 | Multilingual learner | Education & Academia › K-12 Education |
| 6 | Moneyline | Sports › Other Sports |
1. Milliliter (mL)
Units & Measurements · Metric and SI Unit Abbreviations
A thousandth of a liter, identical to one cubic centimeter. It measures medicine doses, cosmetics, drinks and recipe liquids; a US teaspoon is about 5 mL, a can of soda 355 mL and a standard wine bottle 750 mL.
Example: Give 7.5 mL of the liquid antibiotic by mouth twice a day using the dosing syringe.
Also written ml; the capital L is preferred in US healthcare so the symbol cannot be mistaken for the numeral 1. Patient-safety groups recommend that oral liquid medicines be dosed only in mL, with dosing cups and syringes marked in mL alone, rather than in teaspoons. Older medical orders used cc for the same amount.
2. Machine learning
Technology & Computing · Artificial Intelligence Abbreviations
The branch of AI in which computers learn patterns from data instead of following explicitly programmed rules, improving at a task as they see more examples. Spam filters, recommendation engines, fraud detection and voice assistants all rely on ML models trained on large datasets.
Example: The team retrained the ML model on last quarter's orders, cutting forecast error by a third.
IBM researcher Arthur Samuel popularized the term in 1959 while building a checkers program that improved by playing against itself. The main approaches are supervised learning from labeled examples, unsupervised learning that finds structure, and reinforcement learning through trial and reward. Deep learning is a subset of ML, which is itself a subset of AI. In recipes and labs, mL with a capital L means milliliter.
3. Mali
Geography & Places · Country Code Abbreviations
Mali, capital Bamako, alpha-3 MLI, contains the historic city of Timbuktu. Its .ml domain is one keystroke from .mil, and in 2023 reports revealed that millions of US military emails had been misaddressed to Mali over the years.
Example: A typo sent the memo to a .ml address in Mali instead of the .mil address intended.
The .ml domain was also once given away free by Freenom. Mansa Musa, the 14th-century ruler of the Mali Empire, is often called one of the richest people in history.
4. Male lead
Texting & Internet Slang · Fandom and Fan Fiction Abbreviations
Main male character in a drama, webtoon or novel, especially in Chinese, Korean and Thai dramas and web novels, as in "the ML is so devoted."
Example: The ML spent sixteen episodes pining and I loved every minute.
Common in C-drama, K-drama and webnovel fandoms, where fans also discuss the "second ML," a rival love interest. Pairs with FL (female lead). In science and medicine ML means milliliter (mL) or machine learning, unrelated senses.
5. Multilingual learner
Education & Academia · K-12 Education Abbreviations
Asset-based term for students who are learning English while developing other languages, adopted by WIDA and a growing number of states and districts in place of EL or ELL. Some definitions also include students who are already fluent in multiple languages.
Example: The district renamed its EL department the ML program to emphasize students' strengths.
Supporters argue that "multilingual" recognizes students' existing language skills rather than defining them by a deficit. Federal law still uses "English learner", so many documents use EL and ML together. In technology, ML means machine learning.
6. Moneyline
Sports · Other Sports Abbreviations
Straight bet on which team or player will win, with American odds showing payouts: a minus number is the stake needed to win 100, a plus number the winnings on a 100 stake.
Example: The underdog is +240 on the ML, so a $100 bet returns $340.
Moneyline bets avoid the point spread entirely. Favorites like -300 pay little but win often. In measurement ML means milliliter, more often written mL, and in technology machine learning.
Related abbreviations
More metric and SI unit abbreviations
- m – Meter
- mcg – Microgram
- mg – Milligram
- MKS – Meter-kilogram-second system
- mm – Millimeter
- mmol – Millimole
- mol – Mole
- mSv – Millisievert
See all 64 metric and SI unit abbreviations →