Ms

UK: 'MS', 'ms': /ˌɛmˈɛs/; 'Ms': /ˈmɪz/, /ˈməz/

US: /mɪz/

US: (miz)

Inflections of 'MS' (n): npl: MSS
Inflections of 'Ms' (n): npl: Mses

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

Ms / mɪz məs/ noun

1. a title substituted for Mrs or Miss before a woman's name to avoid making a distinction between married and unmarried women
   Compare Miss, Mrs

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

MS,  an abbreviation of:

1. Place Names Mississippi.
2. Pathology multiple sclerosis.

Ms. /mɪz/   pl. Mses. 

/ˈmɪzəz/.  
1. a title of respect used before a woman's name:
   "Come in, Miss Jones.'' "It's Ms. Jones,'' she corrected.
2. (used before an imagined name to express the opinion that the woman so named possesses a particular quality, characteristic, identity, etc.):
   I see that Ms. Perfect got 100% on the test again.

Usage

Unlike Miss or Mrs., Ms. does not depend upon or indicate marital status.

MS., pl. MSS.  an abbreviation of:

1. Printing manuscript.

ms., pl. mss.  an abbreviation of:

1. Printing manuscript.

M.S., 

1. Education Master of Science.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

MS, 

1. Place Names Mississippi (approved esp. for use with zip code).
2. Nautical motorship.
3. Pathology multiple sclerosis.

ms, 

1. Time millisecond;
   milliseconds.

Ms.  (miz), pl. Mses. 

(miz′əz). 
1. a title of respect prefixed to a woman's name or position: unlike Miss or Mrs., it does not depend upon or indicate her marital status.
2. a title prefixed to a mock surname that is used to represent possession of a particular attribute, identity, etc., esp. in an idealized or excessive way:
   Ms. Cooperation.

Usage

Ms. came into use in the 1950s as a title before a woman's surname when her marital status was unknown or irrelevant. In the early 1970s, the use of Ms. was adopted and encouraged by the women's movement, the reasoning being that since a man's marital status is not revealed by the title Mr., there is no reason that a woman's status should be revealed by her title. Since then Ms. has gained increasing currency, especially in business and professional use. Some women prefer the traditional Miss (still fully standard for a woman whose marital status is unknown and for an unmarried woman) or, when appropriate, Mrs.
Newspaper editors sometimes reject Ms. except in quoted matter. Others use whichever of the three titles a woman prefers if her preference is known. Increasingly, newspapers avoid the use of all three titles by referring to women by their full names in first references (Sarah Brady; Margaret Bourke-White) and by surname only, as with men, in subsequent references:
Brady, Bourke-White.
Since all three titles--Ms., Miss, and Mrs.--remain in use, the preference of the woman being named or addressed or the practice of the organization or publication in which the name is to appear is often followed.

Pronunciation

Ms. is pronounced (miz), a pronunciation that is identical with one standard South Midland and Southern U.S. pronunciation of Mrs.

MS., pl. MSS.  

1. Printing manuscript.

ms., pl. mss.  

1. Printing manuscript.

M/S, 

1. Business [Com.] months after sight.
2. Nautical motorship.

m/s, 

1. Weights and Measures meter per second;
   meters per second.

M.S., 

1. Nautical mail steamer.
2. Education Master of Science.
3. Education Master in Surgery.
4. Nautical motorship.

m.s., 

1. modification of the stem of.
2. Business [Com.] months after sight.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

MS abbreviation

1. Master of Surgery
2. Member of the Senedd
3. (on gravestones) memoriae sacrum
4. multiple sclerosis

Etymology: (sense 3) Latin: sacred to the memory of

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

MS., ms. (MSS., mss.) abbreviation

1. manuscript