The comfort of your shoes will largely depend on finding the right size for your feet. If you wear a too-tight shoe, it will deform your toes and put unnecessary pressure. On the contrary, a loosely fitted shoe means you will lack stability on the ground.
Hence, people focus on getting the right size for their shoes. But it can be tedious and difficult if you don’t know anything about shoe sizing. Particularly, words and abbreviations like ‘M,’ ‘BM,’ or ‘B(m)’ will baffle you. So, What Does M Mean In Shoe Size?
In short, M in shoe refers to “Medium with’ in the industry for women’s shoes. At times, you will also see “BM” in shoes, which also refer to medium width for women’s shoes.
But what about men’s shoe sizing then? Well, as you read through this article, you will get to know this too. So, keep reading to find your right-sized shoe.
What Does M Mean In Shoe Size?
When you see the “M” letter in a shoe, it refers to a specific size. Also, note that you will see it mostly on women’s shoes. But what does it mean?
Well, M in women’s shoes refers to medium width. So, the shoe is neither too wide nor too narrow. It ensures a comfortable fit since average women have medium-width feet mostly.
Nonetheless, in the US, finding shoes with a “BM” sizing chart isn’t rare. So, what does it mean? Remember the note-
- B in shoe size refers to width. In women’s shoe size charting, B directly refers to medium width.
- Similarly, BM also stands for women’s medium width.
You may be interested to know why shoe width is important. Also, is it a worldwide practice?
So here goes the answer-
Although we focus mostly on shoe length for fitting, the width is important too. If your shoe is too narrow or wide, you will not get a snug fit and feel uncomfortable and unstable with it. Also, in the US, shoe size referencing includes both its length and width.
Thus, in the US, you will see letters like “B,” “D,” “M” also written on shoe levels along with length such as 7, 7.5, 8, etc. Here, the number refers to the shoe length in inches.
Things can get complicated since most people only know their feet’ length and find the shoe size accordingly. So, when sellers ask about their ‘shoe width,’ they mostly become numb and bang their heads to know about its meaning.
Now you should know what these letters in the American shoe size chart mean in reality. However, US shoe sizing has multiple shoe width categories. We will discuss them too so that you can understand the width difference between shoes, both for men and women.
Also, note that “M” or “BM” is shoe sizing solely refers to women’s shoe width, not men’s. Men’s shoe sizing has different letters. For instance, if you see “DM” in a shoe, it is a men’s shoe, and the sizing refers to an average men’s shoe width.
Long story short, ‘M’ talks about medium width for women’s shoes and is also referred to as BM at times.
But, a kid’s shoe size has a different chart and meaning of “M.” We will discuss this in the following parts.
Shoe Width guide in the US:
You should realize that shoe width is only used in the US as part of a shoe’s actual sizing. But, European and Asians use the shoe length only as part of size charts. In the US, you will find many categories for shoe width.
Also, the same letter has a different meaning for men’s and women’s shoes. This is important to know to find the right-sized shoe for both men and women.
The list broadly includes-
1. “A” shoe width:
A shoe width refers to a narrower size. While this size is pretty common among women, you will rarely find narrow width for men. It happens because, in general, men have larger and wider feet. You will see A-width for footwear from 3.4-inch to 4.9-inch. The measurement is taken around the foot’s ball around its bottom.
2. “AAA” and AA footwear width:
While ‘A’ width refers to extremely narrow shoes for men and narrow footwear for women, this AAA and AA footwear width measures the next extreme level. AA is narrower, and, as you might guess, AAA stands for the narrowest footwear width for both men and women. Long story short, the more “A” you see in the shoe width chart, the narrower the footwear is. Also, with each additional “A” in the shoe sizing chart, it becomes 0.25-inch narrower.
If you find someone with incredibly narrow feet, you might be lucky enough to see even the narrowest “AAAA’ footwear width. But this is a rare, a really rare moment.
3. “B” footwear width:
In women’s shoe sizing, B refers to standard narrow feet same as M shoe width. So, in practicality, both M and B width categories are similar for women’s footwear. Since it talks about narrow feet, “B” and “M” width categories aren’t common among men’s footwear. Also, medium-width footwear for women is at times referred to as “BM” or “B(M).”
4. “C” width category:
C refers to wide feet for women but talks about narrow fit for men’s footwear. But only a few male shoes come with C width measurement since narrow fits are found rarely among men. Still, many women’s shoes have this size as wide feet aren’t pretty uncommon among women.
5. “D” width category:
D refers to medium-wide footwear in the men’s shoe category and wider shoes for women. This is the most common footwear width charting for men since the average man has a medium-wide foot. The measurement is counted from your foot’s ball across the entire bottom size will vary from 3-inch to 5-inch mostly.
6. E, EE, and EEE:
The E category has three main variants, like the A width category. With each increasing E, shoe width also increases substantially. ‘E’ refers to average width, and “EEE” stands for the widest shoe category. Also, note that EEE shoe sizing isn’t common for men, let alone women since it is the widest shoe chart.
7. “M” width category:
You should now understand that M in the shoe size category is medium-wide for women. It is their most common size.
The difference between B and D Shoe Size:
The most common letters used to refer to men’s and women’s shoe width is “B” and “D.” They talk about-
- B refers to medium-wide for women and narrow footwear for men. It is the most common shoe width for women but rare among men.
- D refers to a wide shoe for women. But for men, D talks about medium-wide footwear. Most men’s footwear has D size.
Do Kids Have Different Shoe Width?
In the US, M-width is also used for kid’s and toddler’s shoe sizing. Generally, this is one size big than UK measurements. For instance, an UK 8.5 shoe size means 9.5M in the US for toddlers.
| Size Chart (Groups) | US | UK |
| Junior | 11M | 10 |
| 10.5M | 9.5 | |
| Kids | 10M | 9 |
| 9.5M | 8.5 |
You can find from the table that the UK size chart is one size down from the US shoe size for kids and junior sections. M here stands for medium width.
Is Shoe Width Important?
Let’s admit-
When we visit a shoe store, we will only focus on footwear length to find the right fit. So, what’s the use of footwear width? Also, what benefits does it bring to our feet?
First off, when you get a shoe or footwear that matches both your foot’s length and width, it will be more stable. Also, knowing your shoe width permits you to order customized shoes.
When your shoe is too narrow or wide, you may experience-
- A narrow shoe will put unnecessary pressure on your feet. So, you will face footaches frequently, and it damages your health.
- Wearing too narrow and tight footwear for too long will also deform the toe. It can quickly make your feet look ugly. Also, a deformed toe will decrease your beauty significantly.
If you wonder how to measure your shoe or foot’s width, you don’t need to do it. When you visit any shoe store, the seller and service members in the shop will help you. They use specific measuring tapes or scales to find the actual width of your feet.
So, you can get a tailored fit on your feet. When the shoe length and size match your feet, you will experience the comfiest day.
Our verdict on What Does “M” Mean In Shoe Size
So M is referred to medium-wide for women’s footwear. Also, this is the average shoe width for women. The shoe width category has many listings with various size charts for men and women.
But, Medium Wide or M or BM stands for women solely.
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Meet Bryen, a true aficionado in the world of fashion, with a special knack for footwear. From an early age, Bryen’s passion for style and shoes was undeniable. He’s dedicated his life to becoming a footwear and fashion expert, immersing himself in trends, craftsmanship, and the cultural nuances of fashion.