Which option is the standard abbreviation for a pound?

• A. lbs
• B. lb
• C. lb.
• D. lbm

Answer: (B)

When you see a unit of weight written in a recipe or kitchen notes, the standard abbreviation for a single pound is lb. It comes from the Latin libra, and it’s used in the singular form to indicate one pound, as in “1 lb of flour.” When talking about more than one pound, the common shorthand is the plural form lbs, not lb. with a period or any other variation. The form lb. with a period is outdated in most modern practice. lbm, on the other hand, stands for pound-mass and is used in technical contexts to distinguish mass from pound-force; it isn’t the general shorthand for a single pound in everyday culinary use. So the best choice for the standard abbreviation of a pound is lb.