ppm
Abbreviation with 5 meanings
| Stands for | Parts per million |
|---|---|
| Meanings | 5 |
| Categories | Units & Measurements, Medical, Technology & Computing, Business & Finance, Military |
| Also written | PPM |
ppm has five meanings. The most common are Parts per million (engineering unit) and Permanent pacemaker (cardiology); it can also stand for Pages per minute, Project portfolio management and Personally procured move.
Meanings of ppm at a glance
| # | ppm stands for | Context |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Parts per million | Units & Measurements › Engineering Unit |
| 2 | Permanent pacemaker | Medical › Cardiology |
| 3 | Pages per minute | Technology & Computing › Computer Hardware |
| 4 | Project portfolio management | Business & Finance › Project Management |
| 5 | Personally procured move | Military › Military Term |
1. Parts per million
Units & Measurements · Engineering Unit Abbreviations
Concentration ratio of one part in a million, used for air pollutants, dissolved solids in water, carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and trace elements. Atmospheric CO2 has passed 420 ppm, up from about 280 ppm before industrialization.
Example: The indoor CO2 monitor reads 1,100 ppm, so open a window.
In water, 1 ppm is about 1 milligram per liter, and gas concentrations use ppm by volume (ppmv). Pool chlorine is kept at about 1 to 3 ppm. Workplace exposure limits for gases are set in ppm; OSHA's limit for carbon monoxide is 50 ppm averaged over eight hours. For printers, ppm means pages per minute.
2. Permanent pacemaker (PPM)
Medical · Cardiology Abbreviations
Implanted battery-powered device that senses the heart's own rhythm and delivers electrical impulses through leads when the rate is too slow. The main indications are symptomatic sinus node dysfunction and high-grade AV block, and most generators last about 5 to 15 years before replacement.
Example: Dual-chamber PPM placed for Mobitz II block; device check in 2 weeks.
Pacing modes are described with a lettered code such as DDD or VVI, indicating the chamber paced, the chamber sensed and the response mode. Leadless pacemakers implanted directly into the right ventricle avoid pocket and lead complications. Many systems are MRI-conditional. In manufacturing and chemistry PPM means parts per million.
3. Pages per minute (PPM)
Technology & Computing · Computer Hardware Abbreviations · also used in measurement
Printer speed rating stating how many single-sided pages a printer can output each minute, often listed separately for black-and-white and color. Home inkjets typically print 10 to 20 PPM, office lasers 30 to 60 or more.
Example: The office laser printer prints 40 PPM in black and 35 PPM in color.
Since 2009, ISO/IEC 24734 has defined a standard test so that PPM ratings are comparable across brands; older claims often used draft mode and blank-heavy pages. IPM (images per minute) counts each side in duplex printing. Speed figures exclude warm-up time; "first page out time" measures that separately. In science, ppm means parts per million.
4. Project portfolio management (PPM)
Business & Finance · Project Management Abbreviations
Centralized selection, prioritization and oversight of an organization's projects and programs so that limited money and people go to the work that best supports strategy. The term also names software that supports this, such as Planview.
Example: The PPM review cut 14 low-value projects to fund the new customer portal.
Portfolio decisions typically weigh strategic fit, expected return, risk and resource capacity. PPM tools combine project data, resource plans and financials for executives.
5. Personally procured move (PPM)
Military · Military Term Abbreviations
PCS option in which service members move some or all of their own belongings, using a rental truck or their own vehicle, and are reimbursed based on what the government would have paid a mover.
Example: We did a PPM with a rental truck and came out several hundred dollars ahead.
PPMs were formerly called DITY moves, for "do it yourself." Members must weigh the vehicle empty and full at certified scales and keep receipts. Some families combine a partial PPM with a government shipment of large furniture.
Related abbreviations
More engineering unit abbreviations
- Nm – Newton-meter
- NPT – National Pipe Thread
- Pa – Pascal
- ppb – Parts per billion
- PS – Pferdestärke (metric horsepower)
- psi – Pounds per square inch
- psia – Pounds per square inch absolute
- psig – Pounds per square inch gauge
See all 103 engineering unit abbreviations →
More cardiology abbreviations
- PFO – Patent foramen ovale
- PMI – Point of maximal impulse
- POBA – Plain old balloon angioplasty
- POTS – Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome
- PSVT – Paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia
- PTA – Percutaneous transluminal angioplasty
- PTCA – Percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty
- PTS – Post-thrombotic syndrome
See all 229 cardiology abbreviations →
This entry is for general education and is not medical advice. Abbreviation use varies between institutions; always confirm in context.