SME stands for small or medium enterprise — that is, a company that is not big. Governments and banks draw a line using money (yearly sales) and number of workers; below that line, you are an SME. The exact line changes from country to country, so an SME in the EU may be a different size from an SME in Taiwan. You meet the word mainly in business, banking, government and news writing: SME loans, SME support programmes, the SME sector. It is written in capitals and said letter by letter, es-em-ee, not as a word. The plural adds a small s: SMEs. You will also see the fuller phrase SMEs written out as 'small and medium-sized enterprises'. Two things worth knowing. First, SMEs matter far more than their size suggests — in most economies they employ the majority of workers, which is why so many policies are aimed at them. Second, the same three letters stand for other things in other fields, most commonly 'subject matter expert' — the person who really knows a topic. Which one is meant comes entirely from the surrounding talk.