-es

/-ɪz//-əz//-z/US, sometimes/-iːz/

suffix

ch, when pronounced as /tʃ/: glitch→glitches (but psych→psychs)

OriginMiddle English -es ← Old English -as →
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Meanings

-es1

suffix
  1. Used to form the regular plural of nouns that end in a sibilant (/s/, /z/, /ʃ/, /ʒ/, /t͡ʃ/, or /d͡ʒ/), such as:
    1. ch, when pronounced as /tʃ/: glitch→glitches (but psych→psychs)
    2. j: hajj→hajjes (j is only final in loan words raj, hajj)
    3. s: bus→buses, Jones → Joneses; yes → yeses.
    4. x: box→boxes
    5. z: buzz → buzzes, waltz → waltzes
    6. sh: ash→ashes
  2. Used to form the regular plural of nouns that end in a consonant (or qu) + y

    lady→ladies, soliloquy→soliloquies (but key→keys)

  3. Used to form the plural of some nouns that end in a consonant + o

    tomato→tomatoes (but soprano→sopranos)

  4. dialectalUsed to form the regular plural of nouns that end in /sp/, /st/, /sk/

    post→postes /ˈpəʊstɪz/, /ˈpoʊstɪz/ (standard posts)

-es2

suffix
  1. Used to form the third person singular present indicative of regular verbs:
    1. that end in (t)ch pronounced as /tʃ/: impeach→impeaches (but psych→psychs)
    2. that end in (s)s: miss → misses, yes → yesses; bus → buses; buss → busses
    3. that end in x: tax → taxes
    4. that end in (z)z: fizz→fizzes
    5. that end in consonant + o in some cases: go→goes (but radio→radios)
    6. that end in sh: wish→wishes
    7. that end in consonant (or qu) + y: cry→cries (but buy→buys)

-es3

suffix
  1. idiomaticobsoletePossessive marker; see -s, -'s.

    ... whereupon king Henry his sonne, as it may appeare by the later clause of this chapter, recouered diuers eschet[s] of lande within this Realme holden by Normans, whiche after they began to adhere to the French king, the kinges enimy[…]

    1573, An exposition of the kinges prerogative, collected out of the great Abridgement of Justice Fitzherbert and other olde writers of the lawes of England, page 38

Origin

-es · suffix

  1. Old English-as
  2. Middle English-es
  3. English-es

From Middle English -es, from Old English -as. More at -s.

More words from Middle English, Old English

Full word history & related roots →

-es · suffix

  1. Old English-eþ
  2. Old English-es
  3. Middle English-es
  4. English-es

From Middle English -es, -is, from Old English -es, -as, Northern variants of -est, -ast (second person singular indicative ending). Replaced Middle English -eth, from Old English -eþ, -aþ. The falling together of the second and third person singular verb forms in Old English is believed to be due to Scandinavian influence, where the employment of the same verbal endings for both 2nd and 3rd singular indicative follows a similar pattern to that seen in Old Norse (e.g. þú masar, hann masar; þú þekkir, hann þekkir; etc.).

More words from Middle English, Old English

Full word history & related roots →

-es · suffix

See -s, -'s.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

-es. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/-es

MLA

“-es.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/-es. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “-es,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/-es.

Source: -es on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.