SMS
/ˌɛs ɛm ˈɛs/noun, verb
SMS is spelled S-M-S: 3 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 4.6 times per million words in written English, the 11,870th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, SMS means “A text message sent using the short message service” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of SMS is SMSes or SMSs.
How many letters and syllables are in SMS?
| Letters | 3: S-M-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 4.6 times per million words; the 11,870th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
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).
How common is SMS?
SMS appears 4.6 times per million words in written English, the 11,870th 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 SMS?
- /ˌɛs ɛm ˈɛs/
SMS has 3 syllables (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-SMS.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of SMS
- SMSes plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- SMSs plural
- S.M.S.
- S. M. S.
- SMSing participle, present
- SMSed participle, past
- SMS'd participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does SMS mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A text message sent using the short message service.
- 2
Initialism of special mint set.
- 3
Initialism of salesman sample.
- 4
Initialism of Smith-Magenis syndrome.
- 5
Initialism of short man syndrome.
- 6
Initialism of stiff man syndrome.
- 7
Initialism of safety management system: a system designed to identify and manage occupational safety and health risks.
- 8
Initialism of senior minister of state.
- 9
SMS – Seiner Majestät Schiff – literally, "His Majesty's Ship" in German;
- 10
A ship prefix for a ship in the navy of the Empire of Germany (usually for the period leading to WWI and WWI)
verb
- 1
To send a message on a cell phone via short message service.
I SMSed him and asked why he was late.
noun
- 1
plural of SM
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
SMS in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense a text message sent on a cell phone:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | SMS, texto |
| German | SMS, SMS-Nachricht, Textnachricht |
| Portuguese | mensagem de texto, SMS |
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 SMS come from?
Abbreviation of short message service.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).