SOS
1 Americanabbreviation
abbreviation
noun
verb (used without object)
noun
-
an internationally recognized distress signal in which the letters SOS are repeatedly spelt out, as by radio-telegraphy: used esp by ships and aircraft
-
a message broadcast in an emergency for people otherwise unobtainable
-
informal a call for help
Usage
What does SOS mean? The letter sequence SOS (pronounced S-O-S) is used in Morse code as a distress signal—a way to call for help during an emergency, such as on a ship.Morse code uses clicks and pauses, short and long sounds, or flashes of light to represent letters and numbers. S is represented by three short clicks or brief flashes of light, and O is represented by three long sounds or longer flashes of light (depicted with dashes).Morse code can be written out using dots to represent short clicks and dashes to represent long ones, resulting in a specific sequence for SOS (··· – – – ···) that was chosen since it would be easy to communicate with sounds over radio or with flashes of light.The signal became well-known enough that SOS came to be used as an informal term for any call for help or notification that there is an emergency, as in Send an SOS to the board letting them know that we’ll have to schedule an emergency meeting. When used this way, each letter is still pronounced individually (S-O-S). The plural of SOS can be written as SOSs or SOS’s. SOS can also be used as a verb meaning to send such an SOS.Example: I have my phone set up to automatically send an SOS to certain contacts if I ever dial 9-1-1.
Etymology
Origin of s.o.s.1
From Latin sī opus sit
Origin of SOS1
First recorded in 1905–10; from the Morse code alphabet, in which three dots (or short clicks) represents the letter S and three dashes (or long clicks) represents the letter O
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.
But her other win came in best pop duo/group performance, for this deeper cut from her hit album “S.O.S.,” which features fellow multi-Grammy winner Bridgers and finds SZA alternately “craving humanity” while also envying machines: “Robot get sleep but I don’t power down.”
From New York Times
In the 1980s, Tabu Records scored hits with the S.O.S.
From BBC
Across the 1980s and ‘90s, he scored platinum success with R&B acts such as the S.O.S. Band, Alexander O’Neal, Cherrelle and Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds.
From Los Angeles Times
He brought in “Jimmy Jam” Harris and Terry Lewis of the Time as producers of the S.O.S.
From Los Angeles Times
One person at the seawall flashed S.O.S. out to the ocean, which Leonard said alerted the Coast Guard.
From Seattle Times
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.
