Messrs., Mmes. and Mses.: Quick Guide to Meaning & Use

By
, Staff Writer
Updated August 26, 2020
group of men and women in office
  • DESCRIPTION
    group of men and women in office
  • SOURCE
    Jetta Productions Inc / DigitalVision / Getty Images

If you’re looking for plural abbreviations for Mr., Mrs. and Ms., you’ll find this quick guide to using Messrs., Mmes and Mses. to be quite helpful. Find out what these lesser-known abbreviations mean and how to use them appropriately.

When to Use Messrs.

Messrs. is the formal plural abbreviation of the word mister. The singular abbreviation of mister is Mr. If you were to use the plural form of mister without abbreviating it, you would use the word misters.

Word

Abbreviation

Singular

mister

Mr.

Plural

misters

Messrs.

Usage Examples

The following sentences represent correct usages of the singular and plural forms of mister, expressed as words and as abbreviations.

  • Mr. Smith has arrived. (singular abbreviation)
  • Mister Smith has arrived. (singular word)
  • Messrs. Smith, Berg and Neely have arrived. (plural abbreviation)
  • Misters Smith, Berg and Neely have arrived. (plural word)

Common Errors to Avoid

Take care to avoid common mistakes when attempting to use the plural form of Mr.

Do not use either of the following options:

  • Mr.’s (possessive form indicating something that belongs to a Mr.)
  • Mrs.(refers to a woman who is or has been married)

Mmes.: Plural of Mrs.

Mmes. is the correct plural form of Mrs. According to The New Republic (TNR), the evolution of this term is fairly complicated.

  • The term Mrs. originated as a contraction of the word mistress, which was used to refer to all women, married or not, prior to the middle of the 18th century.
  • After that, Mrs. came to be associated with married women, while the word miss was introduced for unmarried women.
  • The word mistress is no longer used in this context, as it now used to refer to a woman who is having an affair with someone else’s husband.
  • Instead, a married woman may be referred to as madame, while multiple married women are referred to as mesdames.

Word

Abbreviation

Singular

madame

Mrs.

Plural

mesdames

Mmes.

Advertisement

Usage Examples

The following examples illustrate correct and appropriate uses of singular and plural options referring to married women. As the full words are very formal, though, they are rarely used.

  • Mrs. Blacksher has arrived. (singular abbreviation)
  • Madame Blacksher has arrived. (singular word)
  • Mmes. Blacksher and Giddens have arrived. (plural abbreviation)
  • Mesdames Blacksher and Giddens have arrived. (plural word)

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Be careful to avoid making common errors when using the plural form of Mrs.

Examples of what to avoid include:

  • Mrs.’ (possessive form of Mrs indicating something that belongs to a married woman)
  • Mrss (not a word; does not have a meaning)
  • Misses (refers to two unmarried women)
Advertisement

Mses.: Plural of Miss or Ms.

Mses. is the correct plural form of the word Miss and the plural abbreviation Ms. Miss refers to an unmarried woman. There is no abbreviation of Miss. Ms. can refer to any woman regardless of marital status. Like Mrs., Ms. originated as a contraction of mistress, though the term mistress is no longer used because it has taken on a new meaning with a negative connotation.

Word

Abbreviation

Singular (unmarried woman)

Miss

N/A

Singular (woman, married or not)

N/A

Ms.

Plural (unmarried women)

Misses

Mses.

Plural (woman, married or not)

N/A

Mses.

Usage Examples

The following examples represent correct uses of the singular and plural forms of Miss, Ms. and Mses.

  • Miss Wilson will be attending the party. (singular word, unmarried woman)
  • Ms. Wilson will be attending the party. (singular abbreviation; she may or may not be married)
  • Misses Wilson and Jones will be attending the party. (plural; both are unmarried)
  • Mses. Wilson and Jones will be attending the party. (plural; either or both may or may not be married)
Advertisement

Common Inaccuracies to Avoid

There are a few common errors regarding the usage of Mses. and Ms. Mistakes to avoid include:

  • Be careful to avoid spelling Ms. the way it sounds (miz) when spoken.
  • Avoid making assumptions about the marital status of women referred to using Mses. or Ms.

Master the Meanings of Abbreviations

Now that you’ve learned how to correctly convert Mr., Mrs. and Ms. into plural abbreviations, it’s a great time to master even more common abbreviations. From there, you may want to expand your expertise to common acronyms.