ss

Everyday

1. (abbreviation) SS before a ship's name stands for steamship, as in the SS Great Britain. tree →
2. (history) The SS was a violent Nazi military and police force in Germany during the Second World War, which ran concentration camps and carried out the Holocaust. tree →
3. (abbreviation) ss can mean screenshot in online chat. tree →
4. (spelling) ss is a double letter in many words, as in miss, class, kiss, often at the end after a short vowel. tree →
5. (abbreviation, church) Ss is short for Saints, as in Ss Peter and Paul. tree →

In the lessons

In history lessons, the SS Great Britain was a famous early steamship (the Titanic was RMS, Royal Mail Ship); the Nazi SS is studied when learning about the Holocaust, which must be talked about seriously and truthfully. In spelling lessons, the floss rule: double s, f, l, z after a short vowel at the end of short words (miss, off, fill, buzz). In chats, ss means screenshot.

Examples

• The SS Great Britain is a famous ship in Bristol. tree →
• We visited the SS Great Britain on a school trip. tree →
• The SS ran the Nazi concentration camps. tree →
• Miss, class and grass all end in ss. tree →
• Send me a ss of the score. (chat slang) tree →
• The church is called Ss Peter and Paul. tree →

Note

Not a word on its own; an abbreviation or a letter pattern. The Nazi SS is a very serious topic, never a joke. Spelling rule: after a short vowel at the end of a one-syllable word, s is often doubled (pass, less), but not always (bus, yes).