An SOS is a signal which indicates to other people that you are in danger and need help quickly.
The ferry did not even have time to send out an SOS.
SOS in British English
noun
1.
an internationally recognized distress signal in which the letters SOS are repeatedly spelt out, as by radiotelegraphy: used esp by ships and aircraft
2.
a message broadcast in an emergency for people otherwise unobtainable
3. informal
a call for help
Word origin
C20: letters chosen as the simplest to transmit and receive in Morse code; by folketymology taken to be an abbreviation for save our souls
SOS in American English
(ˌɛsˌoʊˈɛs)
noun
1.
a signal of distress in code (· · · − − − · · ·) used internationally in wireless telegraphy, as by ships
2. Informal
any call for help
s.o.s. in American English
Pharmacy
if necessary
Word origin
L si opus sit
Examples of 'SOS' in a sentence
SOS
Passing one hand in front of the light at intervals, she gave the SOS signal.
Keene, Carolyn THE WITCH TREE SYMBOL
His impeccably attired Death walked along the beach, but he whistled an SOS and passed undisturbed.
Sillitoe, Alan THE OPEN DOOR
The point is, you sent me an SOS - presumably because you thought I might be of help.
Delman, David DEATH OF A NYMPH
In view of the seriousness of the incident, the first traffic cop on the scene sent out an SOS for his commander, Manuel Noriega.
Collins, Larry BLACK EAGLES (1993)
In other languages
SOS
British English: SOS /ɛs əʊ ɛs/ NOUN
An SOS is a signal which indicates to other people that you are in danger and need help quickly.
The ferry did not even have time to send out an SOS.
American English: SOS
Arabic: نِدَاءُ اسْتِغَاثَة
Brazilian Portuguese: SOS pedido de socorro
Chinese: 紧急呼救
Croatian: SOS
Czech: SOS
Danish: SOS
Dutch: SOS
European Spanish: S.O.S.
Finnish: SOS
French: SOS
German: SOS
Greek: σήμα κινδύνου
Italian: SOS
Japanese: 救難信号
Korean: SOS
Norwegian: SOS
Polish: SOS sygnał
European Portuguese: SOS pedido de socorro
Romanian: mesaj SOS
Russian: радиосигнал бедствия (SOS)
Latin American Spanish: S.O.S.
Swedish: SOS
Thai: สัญญาณขอความช่วยเหลือ
Turkish: SOS
Ukrainian: сигнал про небезпеку
Vietnamese: tín hiệu cấp cứu SOS
All related terms of 'SOS'
so
You use so to refer back to something that has just been mentioned .
soh
(in tonic sol-fa ) the name used for the fifth note or dominant of any scale
affettuoso
with feeling
aviso
a boat carrying messages ; a dispatch-boat
chamiso
an evergreen shrub with yellow-green flowers native to the western United States
dipso
a dipsomaniac
gracioso
a clown in Spanish comedy
sargasso
any brown seaweed of the genus Sargassum , esp S. bacciferum, having air bladders and forming dense floating masses in tropical Atlantic waters , esp the Gulf Stream
say-so
If you do something on someone's say-so , they tell you to do it or they give you permission to do it.
so-and-so
You use so-and-so instead of a word, expression , or name when you are talking generally rather than giving a specific example of a particular thing.