oss
/ɒs/verb, noun
oss is spelled O-S-S: 3 letters and one syllable. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 29,649th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, oss means “To set about, or intend be inclined to set about (doing something)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in oss?
| Letters | 3: O-S-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 29,649th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
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 oss?
Oss appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 29,649th 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 oss?
- UK /ɒs/
Oss 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).
What rhymes with oss?
6 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as oss from its last stressed vowel (/ɒs/, British pronunciation):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: sos.
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 oss
- osses plural
- 'osses plural
- hoss
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does oss mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To set about, or intend be inclined to set about (doing something).
- 2
To offer (to do something).
an' nobody ossin' to do it
noun
- 1
Initialism of open-source software.
- 2
Initialism of out-of-school suspension.
- 3
Initialism of operations/operational support system.
- 4
Initialism of over-the-shoulder shot.
noun
- 1
plural of OS
noun
- 1
Alternative spelling of 'oss.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does oss come from?
Unclear. Middle English ōssen had a rather different meaning, "to reveal, to prophesy", but the OED suggests it could nonetheless be the same verb. The origin of the Middle English verb is itself obscure, but it may be a variant of halsen, from Old English hālsian, although this too had a rather different meaning, "to beseech, entreat; to exorcise; to imprecate".
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).