os
/ɑs/noun
os is spelled O-S: 2 letters and one syllable. It appears 13 times per million words in written English, the 6,047th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, os means “Synonym of bone” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of os is ossa or ora.
How many letters and syllables are in os?
| Letters | 2: O-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 13 times per million words; the 6,047th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is os?
Os appears 13 times per million words in written English, the 6,047th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce os?
- UK /ɒs/
- US /ɑs/
As a noun (“Alternative form of o's”): /əʊz/, /oʊz/.
Os has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Persent101-OS.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-os.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with os
Also written: o's.
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with os?
7 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as os from its last stressed vowel (/ɑs/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of os
- ossa plural
- ora plural
- osar plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does os mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Synonym of bone.
- 2
An opening or entrance to a passage, particularly one at either end of the cervix, internal (to the uterus) or external (to the vagina).
- 3
An osar or esker.
- 4
rareAlternative form of o's.
adjective
- 1
Initialism of outsize, clothes for large people.
- 2
Initialism of oversize.
- 3
Initialism of Old Style, a term used in English language historical studies to indicate that a date conforms to the Julian calendar instead of the modern Gregorian calendar.
- 4
Abbreviation of offscreen, indicating a line of dialogue is spoken by someone not visible onscreen.
- 5
Initialism of over shoulder.
adverb
- 1
AustraliainformalInitialism of overseas.
noun
- 1
UKAn Ordnance Survey map.
We've got an OS of the Cuckmere area.
- 2
Initialism of operating system.
I've decided to install two different OSes on my new laptop.
- 3
Initialism of ordinary seaman.
- 4
Initialism of oppidan scholar.
noun
- 1
plural of O
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Os in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does os come from?
Unadapted borrowing from Latin os (“bone”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).