Scots

American  

[skots] / skɒts /

noun

1. Also called Scottish.  the English language as spoken in Scotland.

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adjective

1. Scottish.

Scots British  

/ skɒts /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or characteristic of Scotland, its people, their English dialects, or their Gaelic language

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noun

1. any of the English dialects spoken or written in Scotland See also Lallans

Commonly Confused

See Scotch.

Etymology

Origin of Scots

1325–75; syncopated form of Scottis, Middle English, variant (north) of Scottish

Example Sentences

What’s really galling to Scots is the culprit’s lack of ambition.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 12, 2026

Meanwhile the independent producing company Raw Material will launch a new hip hop musical about William Wallace this autumn, having started the year with Scots the Musical, a satirical rave through Scottish history in song.

From BBC • May 24, 2026

More than half of this is spent on the Adult Disability Payment, and the Scottish Fiscal Commission forecasts that one million Scots will be in receipt of a disability payment of some kind by 2031.

From BBC • May 21, 2026

And seven decades earlier, Hearts missed out on the 1915 championship, because 13 of its players abruptly left the team: They had enlisted in the Royal Scots battalion to go fight in the Great War.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 15, 2026

“Ah ken what t’ dooo,” drawled Jamie, the Pobble Who Has No Toes, dragging out his vowels to make them exaggeratedly Scots.

From "Code Name Verity" by Elizabeth Wein