versus

[ vur-suhs, -suhz ]

preposition

1. against (used especially to indicate an action brought by one party against another in a court of law, or to denote competing teams or players in a sports contest):

   Smith versus Jones; Army versus Navy.

2. as compared to or as one of two choices; in contrast with: : v., vs.

   traveling by plane versus traveling by train.

versus

/ ˈvɜːsəs /

preposition

1. (esp in a competition or lawsuit) against; in opposition to vesp USvs
2. as opposed to; in contrast with

Word History and Origins

Origin of versus¹

First recorded in 1400–50; Late Middle English, from Latin: literally, “towards,” i.e., “turned so as to face (something), opposite, over against,” originally past participle of vertere “to turn”; verse

Word History and Origins

Origin of versus¹

C15: from Latin: turned (in the direction of), opposite, from vertere to turn

Example Sentences

“Cultures” Versus “White Girls” As you can probably sense from my scare quotes, you can never be too careful these days.

From The Daily Beast

One of the more interesting splits in the book is the difference between your time at Manchester United versus at Everton.

From The Daily Beast

And even today there are despicable instances of hate crimes versus Jews in our country.

From The Daily Beast

A truly cautionary tale of a 77-year-old versus the Internet.

From The Daily Beast

Why not give her the opportunity to be an actual human being versus a celebrity?

From The Daily Beast

Mandibulae validae corneae arcuatae, intus apicem versus subsinuatae edentulae basin versus ciliatae vel submembranaceae.

From Project Gutenberg

Minor punctuation and capitalization corrections have been made; the word “eat” appears in the original (versus “ate”).

From Project Gutenberg

"It is intellect and artistic sensibility versus sensuousness," yawned Lady Thurwell.

From Project Gutenberg

The most powerful presentation of Theistic Evolution versus Orthodoxy that has ever appeared.

From Project Gutenberg

Expone e too versus afore: this present craft ys called Algorismus, in e quych we vse teen signys of Inde.

From Project Gutenberg