AM in radio context means amplitude modulation - it’s the modulation, has nothing to do with the band. In common everyday layperson context it means all of medium-wave terrestrial broadcast.

But even commercial pilots know their radios are AM for instance.

I meant specifically the phrase "AM radio" - a product advertised as such will usually not be capable of receiving shortwave, unless that is specifically mentioned. People who know what AM actually means tend to use words like "transceiver" anyway, not "radio".

> People who know what AM actually means tend to use words like "transceiver" anyway, not "radio"

I referred to pilots as a counter example.

We know what AM really means and we call it a “radio.”

People also say CB radio - I’ve never heard it referred as a transceiver by that group. Hams, both.

Is this an US thing? Because over here in 80s radios had "long wave", "medium wave", "short wave" (1..6) and "ultra short wave", the later being called "FM" in export models. I do not recall bands being reffered to as "AM".

Does it include LW/MW only, or is shortwave also called "AM radio"?

If you look up "AM/FM radio" on Amazon, you'll see plenty of examples. It does not include shortwave, unless specifically labelled "AM/FM/SW". Whether LW is included or not varies, probably because LW isn't used for broadcasting in US.

I don't think it's just a US or NA thing. In my experience, at least, every casual consumer radio I ever handled that had English labels on it, outside of vintage stuff, used this terminology. More advanced consumer radios like Tecsun will usually avoid "AM" and use LW/MW/SW as appropriate, but then still refer to VHF as FM.

A common radio will have an AM band 530 kHz to 1700 kHz and a FM band 88 to 108 MHz. You'd have to buy a special radio to get more options.