SMS

abbreviation or noun

ˌes-ˌem-ˈes 

: a technology for sending short text messages between mobile phones

messages sent via SMS

—often used before another noun

Creative, colorful, and sometimes perplexing, emoji add energy to SMS messages.

—Christina Bonnington

also : a message sent using this technology : text message

… is helping to test a device that implants sensors in cows to let farmers know when they are in heat. When that is the case, the device sends an SMS to the farmer's phone.

—John Tagliabue

Examples of SMS in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

So, every touchpoint…a search, a product page view, someone adding to cart, opening an email, tapping an SMS, engaging with a push notification…becomes a live decision point. — Arthur Zaczkiewicz, Footwear News, 23 Sep. 2026

The businesses that win with SMS won’t be the ones sending the most texts. — Phil Portman, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2026

Delivery receipts provide a core function across all SMS platforms, making complete remediation impossible in the short term. — Justyn Newman, PC Magazine, 9 Sep. 2026

Programs also get free video and photo content, plus email and SMS marketing tools, to help drive traffic to their store and remind parents to order on time, resources many programs couldn’t otherwise afford to produce or manage on their own. — Matthew Kayser, USA Today, 26 Aug. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Short Message Service

First Known Use

1991, in the meaning defined above