GMT

What Does GMT Mean in a Text?

The Quick Answer

GMT means "Greenwich Mean Time."

More Observations...

The abbreviation GMT stands for "Greenwich Mean Time." It's the mean solar time at the Royal Observatory located in Greenwich, London, England, counted from midnight. Traditionally, GMT was the international civil time standard, and it was used for astronomical and navigational purposes. However, it was replaced by Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) in 1972. While GMT and UTC often provide nearly the same time, UTC is more precise and includes leap seconds. Despite GMT no longer being the international civil time standard, it's still widely used in the UK outside of the summer months, as well as in other contexts. For example, it's common to see time zones expressed as offsets from GMT, like GMT+1 or GMT-3. In the UK, GMT is typically used during the winter, and British Summer Time (BST), which is GMT+1, is used during the summer.

Image for GMT

When I write GMT, I mean this:

GMT is the mean solar time at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, London.

Summary of Key Points

"Greenwich Mean Time" is, by far, the most common meaning for GMT when it is used in a text. (Bear in mind that it could have another meaning if used in a different context.)