Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

versus

/ˈvɝsəs/

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.32 in modern English

Syllables: ver-sus
IPA: /ˈvɝsəs/

9

Scrabble Score

6

Letters

2

Syllables

5

Unique Chars

Meaning

prep

Against; in opposition to.

prep

Compared with, as opposed to.

prep

Bringing a legal action against, as used in the title of a court case in which the first party indicates the plaintiff (or appellant or the like), and the second indicates the defendant (or respondent or the like).

prep

Interacting with, especially to record reactions

prep

Mashed up with.

prep

Indicating one group or artist remixing another.

verb

To face in competition

verb

Example Sentences

"It is the Packers versus the Steelers in the Super Bowl."
"In polling by the Pew Research Center in November 2008, fully half the respondents thought the two parties would cooperate more in the coming year, versus only 36 percent who thought the climate would grow more adversarial."
"If, for example, we select random people entering a workout gym, versus if we pick random people entering a hospital, we will get very different samples."
"Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kans."
"Kiss Me Thru The Phone vs. Last Friday Night"
"The Auteurs vs. μ-Ziq"

Etymology

From Middle English versus, borrowed from Latin versus (“facing”), past participle of vertere (“to turn, change, overthrow, destroy”).

Origin

Source language: Middle English

Word Breakdown

Root: *wert-, versus

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈvɝsəs/
British English: /ˈvɜːsəs/

Inflected Forms

versuses (present, singular) versusing (participle, present) versused (participle, past) versused (past)

Phrases

graft-versus-host disease man versus time nature versus nurture offer versus serve player versus environment player versus player punctus versus save versus

Frequently Paired Words

convert evert invert subvert verse vertex

Synonyms

vs vs. v v.

Homonyms

verses verse

Rhymes With

ursus excursus thyrsus

Questions

How do you pronounce versus?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈvɝsəs/.
What does versus mean?: Against; in opposition to.
Where does versus come from?: It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce versus

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