Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

sos

/ˌɛs.oʊˈɛs/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.36 in modern English

Syllables: sos
IPA: /ˌɛs.oʊˈɛs/

3

Scrabble Score

3

Letters

3

Syllables

2

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

The conventional Morse code call made by a ship in distress.

noun

Initialism of Secretary of State.

noun

Initialism of special order sale.

phrase

Initialism of slip on show: a warning to a woman that the underwear she has on can be seen.

Colloquial

noun

A children's game in which players take turns to place S's and O's on a grid, collecting points by creating an "SOS" sequence.

Uncountable

noun

Initialism of shit on a shingle.

Uncountable

phrase

Initialism of struck off strength or stricken off strength.

noun

plural of so

Example Sentences

"The crew sent a frantic SOS as they realised the scale of the disaster."
""Look at wireless. Look at the S. O. S. call at sea. Is that not a benefit to mankind?""
"At around 5:30 a.m., crewmembers of a JCG patrol boat received an SOS from the 106,726-ton freighter Anangel Courage. The patrol vessel and a JCG plane found the freighter on the high seas about 67 kilometers away from Uotsuri Island, one of the Senkaku Islands, which are also claimed by China."
"she JOJ on my SOS til i LOL"
"Saw this poster in the wild today and instinctively laughed out loud because like. That’s the Joj. The SoS. From my YTPs."
"#the JoJ burger.... with extra Sos"

Etymology

From interpretation of the signal (· · · — — — · · ·), chosen merely as a sequence that is easy to recall and transmit, as normal Morse letters. It is not, as is commonly believed, an abbreviation for "save our souls", "save our ship", or any other phrase.

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˌɛs.oʊˈɛs/
British English: /ˌɛs.əʊˈɛs/

Usage

Inflected Forms

SOS's (plural) SOSes (plural)

Phrases

pan-pan tic tac toe

Frequently Paired Words

mayday pan-pan tic tac toe

Synonyms

joj sus

Antonyms

TOS

Rhymes With

yes less guess press success unless vs dress stress express mess des

Questions

How do you pronounce sos?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˌɛs.oʊˈɛs/.
What does sos mean?: The conventional Morse code call made by a ship in distress.
Where does sos come from?: From interpretation of the signal (· · · — — — · · ·), chosen merely as a sequence that is easy to recall and transmit, as normal Morse letters. It is not, as is commonly believed, an abbreviation for "save our souls", "save our ship", or any other phrase.

How to pronounce sos

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “sos”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˌɛs.oʊˈɛs/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “sos”.
Repeat and practice — Say “sos” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.