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

The survey was commissioned by email and SMS marketing platform Omnisend, which partnered with market research firm Cint to better understand consumer intent this holiday season across four markets. — Roy Stephen Canivel, Footwear News, 4 Nov. 2026

At a fish restaurant in Nairobi, for example, identifying loyal customers to offer them discounts required going through SMS sales receipts one by one, a tedious task that rendered client-retention marketing impractical. — IEEE Spectrum, 3 Nov. 2026

The ministry sought to reassure Russians by noting that the wider public alert system was working normally through SMS messages, media broadcasts and municipal sirens and loudspeakers. — Derek Gatopoulos, Los Angeles Times, 2 Nov. 2026

Bitdefender identified sensitive capabilities in the malware, including potential access to notifications and SMS messages. — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 23 Oct. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Short Message Service

First Known Use

1991, in the meaning defined above