SO
Abbreviation with 9 meanings
| Stands for | Significant other |
|---|---|
| Meanings | 9 |
| Categories | Texting & Internet Slang, Government & Politics, Military, Sports, Geography & Places, Technology & Computing, Business & Finance |
SO has nine meanings. The most common are Significant other (dating and relationship) and Sheriff's office (police); it can also stand for Shout-out, Special Warfare Operator, Shootout, Shutout and Somalia, plus 2 more listed below.
Meanings of SO at a glance
| # | SO stands for | Context |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Significant other | Texting & Internet Slang › Dating and Relationship |
| 2 | Sheriff's office | Government & Politics › Police |
| 3 | Shout-out | Texting & Internet Slang › Social Media |
| 4 | Special Warfare Operator | Military › US Navy and Coast Guard Rating |
| 5 | Shootout | Sports › Ice Hockey |
| 6 | Shutout | Sports › Ice Hockey |
| 7 | Somalia | Geography & Places › Country Code |
| 8 | Stack Overflow | Technology & Computing › Programming |
| 9 | Standing order | Business & Finance › Banking |
1. Significant other
Texting & Internet Slang · Dating and Relationship Abbreviations
Gender-neutral term for a romantic partner, whether boyfriend, girlfriend, spouse or long-term partner. Widely used on Reddit, in advice columns and in workplace invitations.
Example: Feel free to bring your SO to the holiday party, plus-ones are welcome.
Popular because it avoids assumptions about gender or marital status. On social media SO can also mean "shout-out," as in "SO to my coach," which a following name makes clear. Spelled out, "significant other" is common in formal invitations and event registrations.
2. Sheriff's office
Government & Politics · Police Abbreviations
County law enforcement agency led by an elected sheriff in most US states, responsible for unincorporated areas, county jails, court security and serving civil papers. Abbreviations such as "OCSO" combine the county initial with SO.
Example: The Hillsborough County SO says deputies arrested the suspect after a short chase.
Some counties use "sheriff's department." Sheriffs are elected in nearly every state that has them, while Alaska has no county sheriffs and Connecticut abolished the office in 2000. The office descends from the English shire reeve. Sheriff's officers are usually called deputies.
3. Shout-out
Texting & Internet Slang · Social Media Abbreviations
Public mention praising or thanking someone, as in "SO to my coach." Common in captions, comments and livestreams, where creators shout out donors or followers.
Example: SO to Jess for driving four hours to see my show tonight!
Also written "s/o." In dating and relationship contexts SO means "significant other," a partner, so captions such as "my SO" use that sense. The shout-out sense usually comes with "to" before a name.
4. Special Warfare Operator
Military · US Navy and Coast Guard Rating Abbreviations
Enlisted rating for Navy SEALs, created in 2006 to give SEALs their own career path instead of keeping them in their original ratings. SOs conduct direct action, special reconnaissance, counterterrorism and unconventional warfare.
Example: SO1 Brennan completed advanced training and joined an East Coast SEAL team.
Candidates must complete Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training and SEAL Qualification Training before receiving the SEAL trident. The rating was established together with SB for special warfare boat operators. In everyday English, SO means significant other, a very different meaning.
5. Shootout
Sports · Ice Hockey Abbreviations
Tiebreaker used in the NHL regular season when a game is still tied after overtime: players alternate penalty-shot-style attempts, three rounds at first and then sudden death. The winning team gets two points; the loser gets one.
Example: The Panthers won in the SO after 20 rounds, the longest shootout in NHL history.
The NHL adopted the shootout in 2005-06 after the lockout to eliminate ties. The record 20-round shootout came between Florida and Washington in December 2014. Shootouts are not used in the playoffs. International hockey and the Olympics also use shootouts in some games.
6. Shutout
Sports · Ice Hockey Abbreviations
Game in which a goaltender allows no goals, the most prestigious single-game goalie statistic. A shutout is credited only if one goalie plays the whole game, or is shared if two combine.
Example: He made 31 saves for his fourth SO of the season.
Martin Brodeur holds the NHL career record with 125 shutouts, and George Hainsworth recorded 22 in only 44 games in 1928-29. Baseball abbreviates shutouts as SHO, and in a baseball box score SO means strikeouts.
7. Somalia
Geography & Places · Country Code Abbreviations
Somalia, capital Mogadishu, alpha-3 SOM, has the longest coastline of any country in mainland Africa. Somaliland in the northwest has operated as a self-declared state since 1991 without international recognition.
Example: The .so domain, Somalia's SO code, has been used by startups such as Notion.
Somali is spoken across the Horn of Africa. Mobile money is widely used because of weak banking infrastructure.
8. Stack Overflow
Technology & Computing · Programming Abbreviations
The largest question-and-answer website for programmers, where developers post coding problems and community members answer, vote and edit. "SO" is common shorthand in developer chats and in code comments that link to answers.
Example: This workaround came from an SO answer; the link is in the comment above.
Founded in 2008 by Jeff Atwood and Joel Spolsky and later expanded into the Stack Exchange network of Q&A sites; the investment group Prosus bought it in 2021. New questions declined sharply after AI coding assistants became popular in 2023. The site is named after the error that occurs when a program's call stack exceeds its limit.
9. Standing order
Business & Finance · Banking Abbreviations
Instruction a customer gives their bank to pay a fixed amount to another account at regular intervals, such as monthly rent or savings transfers, until canceled. Unlike a direct debit, the payer controls the amount and timing.
Example: My statement shows SO next to the £200 that moves into savings each payday.
Common in the UK, Ireland and other European countries. Only the account holder can change a standing order, whereas a direct debit is controlled by the company collecting the money. US banks offer similar recurring transfers but rarely use the term.
Related abbreviations
More dating and relationship abbreviations
- PDA – Public display of affection
- QT – Cutie
- SAHGF – Stay-at-home girlfriend
- SD – Sweet dreams
- STD – Save the date
- STR – Short-term relationship
- SWAK – Sealed with a kiss
- SWF – Single white female
See all 36 dating and relationship abbreviations →