cos
noun
cos
1 American
[kos, kaws]
/ kɒs, kɔs /
noun
cos
2
American
abbreviation
cos.
3
American
abbreviation
-
companies.
-
consul.
-
consulship.
-
counties.
C.O.S.
4
American
Or
c.o.s.
abbreviation
cos
1
British
/ kɒz /
abbreviation
cos
2
British
/ kɒs /
noun
Cos
3
British
/ kɒs /
noun
COS
4
British
abbreviation
cos
Scientific
Etymology
Origin of cos
1690–1700; after Kos, where it originated
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
"I just started stuffing cheese in my mouth cos I can't stop grinning. Isn't it funny? I was so nervous when Claudia squeezed my shoulder blade, and now I just love being a traitor."
From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2025
In brief, the TerS subunit initiates packaging when it encounters a specific site called cos in the genome.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 21, 2023
"I saw him again years later, cos we hadn't particularly left on good terms after Hammersmith, and it was good," he said.
From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2023
Calculating the work directly is generally difficult, since W = Fd cos θ and the direction and magnitude of F can be complex for multiple charges, for odd-shaped objects, and along arbitrary paths.
From Textbooks ● Aug. 12, 2015
“Dad was dead chuffed . . . thought I migh’ not be a wizard, see, cos me mum . . . well, anyway.
From "Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire" by J. K. Rowling
Bro cos. become corporate frat houses, where employees are chosen like pledges, based on “culture fit.”
From New York Times ● Apr. 1, 2017
Eur. denotes that the Australian bird is closely similar in form, habits, &c., to the corresponding European bird. =vt. cos. denotes that it is the equivalent or representative of a cosmopolitan group of birds.
From An Australian Bird Book A Pocket Book for Field Use by John Albert Leach
Caps. are directed to examine the arms of their cos. immediately.
From The Campaign of 1776 around New York and Brooklyn by Henry P. Johnston
Varnum's Regt. is to take fort Box & the Oblong redoubt for their alarm posts, fort Box 6 cos., oblong redoubt 2 cos.
From The Campaign of 1776 around New York and Brooklyn by Henry P. Johnston
A., T., N.Z. =vt. cos. bird. c. lagoons, bays 60 White; wings, tail black; bill pink, pouch yellowish; f., sim.
From An Australian Bird Book A Pocket Book for Field Use by John Albert Leach
Thereupon I wrote a further letter to the C.O.S., asking that they would be prepared for a marriage ceremony about which there should, this time, be no mistake.
From Fifty-One Years of Victorian Life by Margaret Elizabeth Leigh Child-Villiers
And this time C.O.S. did not even "remain" in the plural.
From Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 159, August 25th, 1920 by Various
Take a class in a college settlement, make some bibs for a day nursery, give tramps a C.O.S. card, with one's compliments, and attend about six lectures a year on Philanthropy—the lectures very good indeed.
From The Warriors by Anna Robertson Brown Lindsay
Should one," wondered Felicity, "give friendship, as one is supposed to give money, on C.O.S. principles?
From The Lee Shore by Dame Rose Macaulay
Of course, to give pennies in the street is much less trouble than to run the C.O.S.
From The Human Machine by Arnold Bennett
“The race to capture market share may have led to overinvestment,” said Pablo Hernández de Cos, general manager of the BIS.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 28, 2026
In 1995, Anderson worked at Burkle’s Los Angeles–based private equity firm the Yucaipa Cos.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 6, 2026
An area that used to be dominated by lower-income shoppers, recent earnings reports from other discount retailers, such as TJ Maxx, HomeGoods and Marshalls parent TJX Cos.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 25, 2025
Recent earnings reports from off-price and discount retailers, such as TJ Maxx parent TJX Cos.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 25, 2025
Cos x = 1 when x = 0, so the whole expression equals 1/1 = 1.
From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife
Reselling items, including at Sellpy and at its other brands such as COS, made up about 0.8% of H&M’s overall sales revenue in 2025, the company said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026
"I feel the accessibility is there," Ffion Mon Roberts from COS said.
From BBC ● Mar. 15, 2022
The COS was made of grecanico, as garganega, the grape of Soave, is known in Sicily.
From New York Times ● Jan. 20, 2022
At the time of the attack, the COS urged residents to stay out of the park.
From Fox News ● Aug. 12, 2021
COS, or COOS, one of the islands called the Cyclades, in the Ægean sea, famous for being the birth-place of Apelles; now Stan Co.
From A Dialogue Concerning Oratory, Or The Causes Of Corrupt Eloquence The Works Of Cornelius Tacitus, Volume 8 (of 8); With An Essay On His Life And Genius, Notes, Supplements by Cornelius Tacitus
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
