S
/ɛs/
Definitions
3 meaningsThe nineteenth letter of the English alphabet.
/ɛs/
The letter of the alphabet.
The word 'sun' starts with the letter 's'.
💡 Simply: It's the letter you use to write words like 'sun' and 'snake'.
👶 For kids: It's a letter, like A, B, or C. It makes a 'sss' sound.
More Examples
Can you write the letter 's'?
The sound of 's' is a hissing sound.
How It's Used
"The word starts with an 's'."
"The letter 's' is the nineteenth letter of the English alphabet."
An abbreviation for various words depending on the context, such as second, singular, etc.
/ɛs/
Abbreviation for various words.
The race was won in 10 s.
💡 Simply: Sometimes it stands for something short. Like, 's' for 'seconds' when you're timing something.
👶 For kids: It can mean a short way to write a longer word. For example, in time it can mean 'seconds'.
More Examples
The word 'cat' is in the s. (singular) form.
The measurement is 10 s.
How It's Used
"5 s (seconds)"
"s. (singular)"
A grammatical marker used to form the plural of nouns.
/ɛs/
To use as plural.
The word 'dog' s to become 'dogs'.
💡 Simply: This is the way to write 'cats' to make it plural.
👶 For kids: It is used at the end of a word to mean more than one, like when you say 'cats' instead of 'cat'.
More Examples
Adding 's' to 'book' s it plural.
Adding 's' to 'cat' s it plural.
How It's Used
"The word 'cat' s to become 'cats'."
From the Latin letter "es," representing the sound /s/. It has been used as an abbreviation for various words, and as a grammatical marker for plurals and third-person singular present tense verbs in English.
The letter 's' has been a consistent part of the English alphabet throughout its history, evolving from its Latin origins. Its usage has been relatively stable, acting as a fundamental component of numerous words.
Memory tip
Think of the snake shape.
Word Origin
"The letter 'es'. The sound /s/"