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Mrs. (American English) or Mrs (British English; standard English pronunciation: ) is a commonly used English honorific for women, usually for those who are married and who do not instead use another title or rank, such as ''Doctor'', ''Professor'', ''President'', ''Dame'', etc. In most Commonwealth countries, a full stop (period) is usually not used with the title. In the United States and Canada a period (full stop) is usually used (see Abbreviation).

''Mrs.'' originated as a contraction of the honorific ''Mistress'' (the feminine of ''Mister'' or ''Master'') which was originally applied to both married and unmarried women in the upper class. Writers who used ''Mrs'' for unmarried women include Daniel Defoe, Samuel Richardson, Henry Fielding, and Samuel Johnson. The split into ''Mrs'' for married women and ''Miss'' for unmarried began during the 17th century, but was not reliable until well into the 19th century.

It is rare for ''Mrs.'' to be written in a non-abbreviated form, and the unabbreviated word lacks a standard spelling. In literature it may appear as ''missus'' or ''missis'' in dialogue. A variant in the works of Thomas Hardy and others is "Mis'ess", reflecting its etymology. ''Misses'' has been used but is ambiguous, as this is a commonly used plural for ''Miss''. The plural of ''Mrs.'' is from the French: ''Mesdames''. This may be used as is in written correspondence, or it may be abbreviated ''Mmes''. Provided by Wikipedia