ms

1 of 3

abbreviation (1)

millisecond

Ms.

2 of 3

noun

ˈmiz 

variants US Ms. or British Ms

plural Mss. or Mses. ˈmi-zəz 

—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

Noun

More women have been featured than men, Ms. Ehrenkranz added, because more women have approached her about participating. —Abigail Covington, New York Times, 3 May 2025

This team hasn’t quite come to fruition yet, but the ending of The Marvels sees teenage hero Ms. Marvel/Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani) approach Hawkeye protégé Kate Bishop (Hailee Steinfeld) in distinctly Fury-esque fashion, with the offer of a team-up. —Siddhant Adlakha, Vulture, 2 May 2025

Fifth Season, which is financing the feature as well as producing it, initially developed the project with Will Dunn, a writer on Marvel Studios’ Ms. Marvel. —Borys Kit, HollywoodReporter, 28 Apr. 2025

And this year, Ms. Wintour—alongside co-chairs Colman Domingo, Lewis Hamilton, A$AP Rocky, and Pharrell Williams—are putting Black history and fashion at the forefront. —Doug Melville, Forbes.com, 28 Apr. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun

probably blend of Miss and Mrs.

First Known Use

Noun

1901, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

Ms.

noun

(ˌ)miz 

plural Mss. or Mses. ˈmiz-əz 

—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