res

¹ American  

[reez, reys] / riz, reɪs /

noun

Chiefly Law.

plural

res

1. an object or thing; matter.

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RES ² American  

abbreviation

Immunology.

1. reticuloendothelial system.

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res. ³ American  

abbreviation

1. research.

2. reserve.

3. residence.

4. resident; residents.

5. resigned.

6. resolution.

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res. ¹ British  

abbreviation

1. residence

2. resides

3. resigned

4. resolution

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res ² British  

/ reɪs /

noun

1. a thing, matter, or object

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Etymology

Origin of res

First recorded in 1850–55, res is from the Latin word rēs

Example Sentences

We begin in medias res as the unnamed author frets about his choice to begin at chapter 13 rather than the more traditional chapter 1.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 16, 2026

The law deems them res nullius, which literally means a thing belonging to nobody - so responsibility falls to individual landowners.

From BBC • Dec. 25, 2025

Not necessarily in chronology — since the flashbacks and -forwards of “Lost,” TV has become suffused with in media res openings and Vonnegutian unstickings in time.

From New York Times • Jan. 6, 2023

In reality, BookTok discovered him en medias res — in the middle of his journey.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 28, 2022

How well should my library be furnished, 'nisi obstat res angusta domi,' 'My lot forbids, nor circumscribes alone My growing virtues, but my crimes confines.'

From The Genius of Scotland or Sketches of Scottish Scenery, Literature and Religion by Turnbull, Robert