HS
Abbreviation with 9 meanings
| Stands for | High school |
|---|---|
| Meanings | 9 |
| Categories | Education & Academia, Medical, Business & Finance, Texting & Internet Slang, Military, Science & Engineering |
| Also written | Hs |
HS has nine meanings. The most common are High school (K-12 education) and Hidradenitis suppurativa (dermatology); it can also stand for Hora somni (at bedtime), Harmonized System, Half-strength, Hereditary spherocytosis and Headshot, plus 2 more listed below.
Meanings of HS at a glance
| # | HS stands for | Context |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | High school | Education & Academia › K-12 Education |
| 2 | Hidradenitis suppurativa | Medical › Dermatology |
| 3 | Hora somni (at bedtime) | Medical › Prescription |
| 4 | Harmonized System | Business & Finance › Logistics, Supply Chain & Trade |
| 5 | Half-strength | Medical › Prescription |
| 6 | Hereditary spherocytosis | Medical › Hematology and Oncology |
| 7 | Headshot | Texting & Internet Slang › Gaming Slang |
| 8 | Health Services Technician | Military › US Navy and Coast Guard Rating |
| 9 | Hassium | Science & Engineering › Chemical Element |
1. High school
Education & Academia · K-12 Education Abbreviations
Secondary school covering grades 9 to 12 in most US districts, ending with the high school diploma. Course credits, graduation requirements and state tests are set by each state and district.
Example: HS juniors can sign up for the college fair in the counseling office.
Freshman, sophomore, junior and senior correspond to grades 9 to 12. In Britain, "secondary school" and "sixth form" cover similar ages. High school graduation rates in the US reached about 87 percent in the late 2010s, measured by the four-year adjusted cohort rate.
2. Hidradenitis suppurativa
Medical · Dermatology Abbreviations
Chronic inflammatory skin disease causing recurring painful nodules, abscesses and draining tunnels in the armpits, groin, buttocks and under the breasts, often healing with scars. It usually begins after puberty, is more common in women, smokers and people with obesity, and is frequently misdiagnosed as boils.
Example: HS Hurley stage II, axillae and groin, recurrent flares; start adalimumab 160 mg loading dose.
Despite its name, the disease starts in hair follicles rather than sweat glands. Average delays to diagnosis have been around seven to ten years. Hurley staging (I–III) grades severity. Adalimumab became the first approved treatment in 2015, followed by IL-17 inhibitors. In prescriptions HS means hora somni, at bedtime, an abbreviation safety groups advise against.
3. Hora somni (at bedtime)
Medical · Prescription Abbreviations
Instruction to give a medicine at the hour of sleep. Older editions of the ISMP list of error-prone abbreviations included it because the same letters also mean "half-strength", and a bedtime order has been mistaken for a dilution instruction and vice versa.
Example: Trazodone 50 mg PO HS PRN insomnia, may repeat once.
Latin "hora somni", literally "hour of sleep". Often written lowercase "hs" for bedtime, while uppercase "HS" more often signals half-strength, but that convention is not reliable in handwriting. Safety guidance recommends writing "bedtime" or "at bedtime" and "half-strength" in full; the current ISMP list still flags the related forms qhs and qn.
4. Harmonized System
Business & Finance · Logistics, Supply Chain & Trade Abbreviations
International product classification system maintained by the World Customs Organization, assigning six-digit codes to more than 5,000 commodity groups so countries can classify goods consistently for tariffs, statistics and trade rules.
Example: The HS code for roasted coffee begins with 0901.
In force since 1988 and used by more than 200 economies. Countries add further digits for national tariffs, producing the 10-digit US HTS or the 8-digit EU Combined Nomenclature. The WCO revises the nomenclature roughly every five years. India uses HSN codes on GST invoices based on the same system.
5. Half-strength
Medical · Prescription Abbreviations
Instruction that a solution, feeding or topical product should be diluted to 50 percent of its usual concentration, for example half-strength hydrogen peroxide or a tube feeding started at half strength. Older ISMP error-prone lists flagged it because it can be read as "at bedtime".
Example: Start Jevity HS at 20 mL/h via G-tube and advance to full strength as tolerated.
Because "HS" also abbreviates hora somni (bedtime), medication-safety guidance advises writing "half-strength" in full. In wound care and enteral nutrition, diluting to half strength is less common than it once was, which makes the abbreviation more likely to be misinterpreted as a timing instruction.
6. Hereditary spherocytosis
Medical · Hematology and Oncology Abbreviations
Inherited red cell membrane disorder in which defects in proteins such as spectrin and ankyrin make red cells small, round and fragile, so the spleen destroys them. It causes anemia, jaundice, an enlarged spleen and gallstones, and is common in people of Northern European ancestry.
Example: Mild anemia, splenomegaly, spherocytes and positive EMA binding test; father had a splenectomy: HS.
It affects roughly 1 in 2,000 people of Northern European descent. Parvovirus B19 infection can cause a sudden aplastic crisis by halting red cell production. Folic acid supports increased red cell turnover, and splenectomy, often partial in children, is reserved for moderate to severe disease. On prescriptions HS means at bedtime (hora somni).
7. Headshot
Texting & Internet Slang · Gaming Slang Abbreviations
Shot that hits an opponent's head, usually dealing extra or instantly lethal damage in shooters. Players track headshot percentage as a measure of aim.
Example: Got a HS from across the map with the pistol, still shaking.
Headshot percentage is a common stat in Counter-Strike and Valorant, where precise crosshair placement matters. "One-tap" refers to killing with a single headshot. Outside games, HS commonly means high school, which context separates.
8. Health Services Technician
Military · US Navy and Coast Guard Rating Abbreviations
Coast Guard medical rating that staffs clinics and sickbays, provides emergency care aboard cutters and at air stations, and manages medical and dental readiness. Independent-duty HSs serve as the sole medical provider on larger cutters.
Example: HS1 Rivera treated the injured deckhand while the cutter steamed toward port.
Health services technicians fill the role that Navy hospital corpsmen fill in the Navy. Some advance into physician assistant programs. In education, HS commonly means high school, a much more frequent use of the letters.
9. Hassium (Hs)
Science & Engineering · Chemical Element Abbreviations
Hassium (atomic number 108) is a synthetic element in group 8, below osmium. In 2001 chemists formed hassium tetroxide from a handful of atoms and found it behaves like osmium tetroxide, making hassium the heaviest element whose chemistry had been studied at the time.
Example: Like osmium, Hs forms a volatile tetroxide that deposits on cold surfaces.
GSI Darmstadt's team synthesized hassium in 1984 by fusing lead-208 with iron-58. The name, approved in 1997, comes from Hassia, the Latin name for the German state of Hesse, where the laboratory is located.
Related abbreviations
More K-12 education abbreviations
- FRL – Free and reduced-price lunch
- GATE – Gifted and Talented Education
- GT – Gifted and talented
- HOSA – HOSA-Future Health Professionals (originally Health Occupations…
- IDEA – Individuals with Disabilities Education Act
- IEE – Independent educational evaluation
- IEP – Individualized Education Program
- IFSP – Individualized Family Service Plan
See all 96 K-12 education abbreviations →
More dermatology abbreviations
- ED&C – Electrodesiccation and curettage
- EM – Erythema migrans
- GA – Granuloma annulare
- HA – Hyaluronic acid (filler)
- ICD – Irritant contact dermatitis
- IPL – Intense pulsed light
- KOH – Potassium hydroxide (preparation)
- KP – Keratosis pilaris
See all 52 dermatology abbreviations →
This entry is for general education and is not medical advice. Abbreviation use varies between institutions; always confirm in context.