English is weird. It’s a mess of Germanic roots, French imports, and Latin rules that nobody actually follows when they're texting. One of the most annoying examples of this linguistic chaos is figuring out how do you spell busses versus buses. You’ve probably seen both. You’ve probably typed both. One looks "right" because of the way we double consonants in words like flappable or running, while the other looks like it should rhyme with fuses.
But here’s the kicker: both are actually "correct" in a technical sense, though one is definitely winning the popularity contest.
✨ Don't miss: 14 Day Forecast Binghamton NY: What Most People Get Wrong
If you’re writing a formal email or a school essay, you usually want to stick with buses. That’s the standard. It’s the version you’ll find in the Associated Press (AP) Stylebook and the New York Times manual. However, if you accidentally throw that extra ‘s’ in there, you aren’t necessarily wrong—you’re just being old-school. Or perhaps you’re just leaning into a spelling convention that hasn’t quite died off yet.
The Great Double-S Debate: Why Busses Still Exists
Language evolves. It’s alive. It changes based on how people actually talk and write on the ground. Traditionally, the rule in English is that when you have a short vowel sound (like the "u" in bus), you double the following consonant when adding a suffix to keep that vowel short. Think about hop becoming hopping. Without that second ‘p’, it becomes hoping, and the whole meaning shifts.
So, logically, if you want to pluralize bus, adding an ‘es’ should result in busses to protect that short "u" sound. If you just write buses, a strict phonetician might argue it should be pronounced "b-yoo-ses," like the word abuses.
But logic rarely wins in English.
Dictionaries like Merriam-Webster and Oxford still list busses as an acceptable variant. It’s not an error. It’s just... less common. Much less common. According to Google Ngram data, which tracks the usage of words in printed books over centuries, buses took a massive lead in the early 20th century and never looked back.
Does it matter where you live?
Not really. Usually, we blame these spelling splits on the Americans versus the British. Color vs. Colour. Center vs. Centre. But in the case of how do you spell busses, both sides of the Atlantic have largely agreed to drop the extra ‘s’. Whether you are in London, New York, or Sydney, buses is the preferred form in almost every professional newsroom and publishing house.
Honestly, the only place you still see "busses" frequently is in older literature or very specific technical manuals that haven't been updated in decades. Even then, it feels like a relic. It’s like wearing a monocle. It’s not illegal, but people are going to notice.
The "Kissing" Problem: Why One Spelling is Risky
There is a very practical reason to avoid the double-s version. It’s the verb.
In English, the word buss (with two s’s) is an archaic, somewhat poetic word for a kiss. To "buss" someone is to give them a peck on the cheek.
✨ Don't miss: Why the pink see through dress is dominating your feed right now
- He busses the children goodbye. (He kisses them.)
- He buses the children to school. (He transports them in a large yellow vehicle.)
You can see where this gets messy. If you write, "The city is increasing the number of busses," a cheeky editor might ask if the city is getting more affectionate. While context almost always saves you, why take the risk? Using the single ‘s’ for transportation keeps your meaning crystal clear and avoids any accidental Victorian-era romance appearing in your transit report.
When to Use Each Version (A Quick Guide)
If you’re still staring at your screen wondering which key to hit, just look at the context.
For buses (the vehicle):
Always default to this. If you are talking about the city transit system, the school fleet, or the Greyhound parked at the station, use one ‘s’. It’s cleaner. It’s modern. It’s what your spellcheck won’t underline in red.
For busses (the verb):
If you are a busser in a restaurant—the person who clears tables—you might say you "buss" tables. However, even in the hospitality industry, the spelling is shifting toward "buses tables." Language is moving toward simplification. We like fewer letters. We like efficiency.
What about the computer world?
In technology, a "bus" is a communication system that transfers data between components inside a computer. When IT professionals talk about multiple data paths, they almost universally use buses. If you’re writing a white paper on motherboard architecture or USB (Universal Serial Bus) standards, stick to the single ‘s’. Writing "busses" in a tech context makes you look like you’re writing from 1974.
Real-World Usage and Expert Opinions
Famed grammarian Bryan Garner, author of Garner's Modern English Usage, notes that "buses" is the preferred form by a ratio of about 10 to 1. He categorizes "busses" as a persistent variant but clearly labels "buses" as the standard.
The Associated Press, which sets the standard for almost all American journalism, is very firm on this. They don't want the extra ‘s’. They want brevity. Their goal is to convey information as quickly as possible without distracting the reader. A double ‘s’ is a distraction.
Interestingly, if you look at historical documents from the early 1900s, you’ll find a lot of "busses." At that time, the word was still relatively new—a shortening of omnibus. As the word became more integrated into the daily lexicon, it shed the extra baggage. It’s a common pattern in English; as words become more frequent, they tend to get shorter and simpler.
🔗 Read more: Dubai Fashion Week: Why the Industry is Finally Taking it Seriously
Practical Next Steps for Your Writing
Don't overthink it. Seriously.
- Change your default settings. If your brain naturally wants to type "busses," consciously train yourself to stop at one ‘s’. It’s one of those small things that makes your writing look more polished and professional.
- Trust your spellchecker. Most modern browsers and word processors will flag "busses" as a misspelling or at least a secondary variant. If you see that little red squiggle, don't fight it.
- Think of the "Kiss Rule." If you’re worried about which is which, just remember that two s's are for smooching. One 's' is for the shuttle.
- Check your house style. If you are writing for a specific company or publication, check their style guide. While 99% will prefer "buses," there are always those weird outliers who love an archaic spelling.
Basically, you’re safe with buses. It’s the universal standard. It’s what people expect to see. While you won't necessarily be "wrong" if you use the double-s version, you will definitely be in the minority. Keep it simple, keep it single, and move on to the next sentence.