-s Hear it!

-s definition

-s

  1. forming the plural of most nouns hips, shoes
  2. forming the 3d pers. sing., pres. indic., of certain verbs shouts, gives, runs
  3. forming some adverbs betimes, days

Etymology: alternate form of -es, assimilated to prec. voiceless sounds as (s) and to S voiced sounds as (z) when those sounds are not sibilants

-'s1 definition

-'s

  1. forming the possessive singular of most nouns and noun phrases and of some pronouns a child's game, the defense attorney's case, the Senator from Maine's bill, one's own ideas
  2. forming the possessive plural of nouns whose plural does not end in s a children's dictionary

Etymology: assimilated contr. < ME -es < OE, masc. & neut. gen. sing. inflection

-'s2 definition

-'s

  1. is he's here
  2. has she's done it
  3. Informal does what's it matter?
-'s3 definition

-'s

us: used with the verb let in the contraction let's
-s' definition

-s'

forming the possessive plural of most nouns cats' whiskers, the Johnsons' children, Americans' eating habits

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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