verses / versus

The “vs.” in a law case like “Brown vs. The Board of Education” stands for Latin versus (meaning “against”). Don’t confuse it with the word for lines of poetry—“verses”—when describing other conflicts, like the upcoming football game featuring Oakesdale versus Pinewood.

Note that in formal legal contexts the abbreviation is usually just “v.,” as in “Brown v. The Board of Education.”

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Common Errors in English Usage book cover