Latin abbreviation🔤 abbreviation
vs.
versus; against
What it means
vs. stands for the Latin 'versus,' meaning 'against' or 'compared with.' It pits two sides against each other — in sports, law, debates, and comparisons. In US legal citations the even shorter form 'v.' is standard.
Words like “vs.” are exactly the kind of vocabulary our English vocabulary size test measures — find out how many English words you know.
Examples
- It's the home team vs. the visitors tonight.
- This is a classic case of quality vs. quantity.
- Brown vs. the Board of Education.
- Cats vs. dogs: the eternal debate.
Where it comes from
From Latin 'versus' ('turned toward, against'). Written 'vs.' in general English and 'v.' in legal case names.
Related abbreviations
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