( BrE ) (also Ms. NAmE , BrE ) / mɪz; məz/ abbreviation
a title that comes before a woman's family name or before her first and family names together, and that can be used when you do not want to state whether she is married or not :
Ms Murphy
Ms Jean Murphy
—compare Miss , Mrs
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WORD ORIGIN
1950s: combination of Mrs and Miss (see miss ).