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SOS

Pronunciation: /ɛsəʊˈɛs/

Translate SOS | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of SOS

noun (plural SOSs)

  • an international code signal of extreme distress, used especially by ships at sea: they put out an SOS that they were on fire
  • an urgent appeal for help: I’d thought of phoning a desperate SOS to James
  • British a message broadcast in an emergency in an attempt to contact a person whose whereabouts are not known: here is an SOS message for Mr Arthur Brown about his brother, who is dangerously ill

Origin:

early 20th century: letters chosen as being easily transmitted and recognized in Morse code; by folk etymology an abbreviation of save our souls

SOS in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of SOS in the US English dictionary

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