Mr.

1 of 2

noun

ˈmi-stər 

in rapid speech especially in sense 2 (ˌ)mis(t)

variants US Mr. or British Mr

plural Messrs. ˈme-sərz 

1

—used as a conventional title of courtesy except when usage requires the substitution of a title of rank or an honorific or professional title before a man's surname

spoke to Mr. Doe

2

—used in direct address as a conventional title of respect before a man's title of office

May I ask one more question, Mr. President?

3

a

—used as part of the title for a man who has won a contest

Mr. Universe

b

—used before the name of a place, profession, or activity or before an epithet (such as clever) to form a title applied to a male viewed as representative of the thing indicated

Mr. Baseball

mR

2 of 2

abbreviation

milliroentgen

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the plural of Mr.?

The plural of Mr. is Messrs. There is a reason for this seemingly incongruous change: were one to simply add an s to the end of Mr. it would be indistinguishable from the honorific for a married woman, and so the plural is made by shortening the plural form of the French word for Misters (Messieurs).

What is the plural of Mrs.?

The plural of Mrs. is Mmes., a shortening of the French plural Mesdames. English borrowed the French plural for this honorific after adopting Messrs. for the plural of Mr.. This was done because it would have been difficult to otherwise distinguish Mr. from Mrs. had we formed the plural by simply adding an s to it.

How do you pluralize Ms. and Miss?

Miss (an unmarried woman or girl) is pluralized as Misses. Ms. (a woman for whom the marital status is either unknown or irrelevant) may be pluralized as either Mss. or Mses.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Mr. from Middle English, abbreviation of maister master; Messrs. abbreviation of Messieurs, from French, plural of Monsieur

First Known Use

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing Mr.

• Mr. Nice Guy
• no more Mr. Nice Guy

Kids Definition

Mr.

noun

ˌmis-tər 

plural Messrs. ˌmes-ərz 

1

—used as a title before a man's last name or title of office

Mr. Doe

Mr. President

2

—used to form a title for a man who represents the thing indicated

Mr. Punctuality

Mr. Baseball

Etymology

Noun

Middle English Mr., an abbreviation of master

Medical Definition

mR

1 of 2 abbreviation

milliroentgen

MR

2 of 2 abbreviation

magnetic resonance