ms

1 of 3

abbreviation (1)

millisecond

Ms.

2 of 3

noun

variants US Ms. or British Ms
plural Mss. or Mses. ˈmi-zəz How to pronounce Ms. (audio)
used as a conventional title of courtesy before a woman's surname
My history teacher is Ms. Judson
used instead of Miss or Mrs. (as when the marital status of a woman is unknown or irrelevant)
Ms. Mary Smith
"I think you do want to dispute the fact that you had a difficult childhood," Ms. Johnston told Mrs. Gore, who was silent for several beats, then agreed.Katha Pollitt
But it wasn't until the 1970s that Ms. took its place in the emerging women's liberation movement. It was a heady time for women, and the new prefix represented an important new way for them to define themselves as individuals, rather than in terms of their relationship to men.Carol Toller

MS

3 of 3

abbreviation (2)

1
[Italian mano sinistra] left hand
2
manuscript
3
master of science
4
military science
5
Mississippi
6
motor ship
7
multiple sclerosis

Examples of ms in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Noun
However, beginning in the 1980s, Ms. Ofre began to notice the trees disappearing. Saint Ekpali, The Christian Science Monitor, 21 Nov. 2024 The original cast return to voice the animal gang: former pickpocket Mr. Wolf (Sam Rockwell), Mr. Snake (Marc Maron), Mr. Shark (Craig Robinson), Mr. Piranha (Anthony Ramos) and the expert hacker Ms. Tarantula (Awkwafina). Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 21 Nov. 2024 Many canvassers encountered women who had already voted early for Ms. Harris. Erica L. Green, New York Times, 31 Oct. 2024 After the jury sent the question, Ms. Jennings urged them to keep deliberating. Dylan Lovan, The Christian Science Monitor, 4 Nov. 2024 See all Example Sentences for ms 

Word History

Etymology

Noun

probably blend of Miss and Mrs.

First Known Use

Noun

1901, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of ms was in 1901

Dictionary Entries Near ms

Cite this Entry

“Ms.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ms. Accessed 29 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

Ms.

noun
plural Mss. or Mses. ˈmiz-əz How to pronounce Ms. (audio)
used instead of Miss or Mrs. (as when it is unknown or unimportant whether the woman addressed is married or single)
Etymology

Noun

probably a combination of Miss and Mrs.

Medical Definition

ms

1 of 2 abbreviation
millisecond

MS

2 of 2 abbreviation
1
mass spectrometry
2
master of science
3
multiple sclerosis

More from Merriam-Webster on ms

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!