What’s the Plural of Status: Understanding Singular and Plural Forms

Status and Statuses — See the Pattern

The word status comes from Latin. Some people think the plural should follow Latin rules, but in English we simply add -es. Look at these examples:

• The system shows the statuses of all your orders. (more than one order)
• Please check the statuses of both applications. (two applications)
• The different social statuses in the group surprised her. (more than one level)
• He posted three statuses on social media today. (three posts)

Did you see the pattern? Every time you mean more than one status, you add -es to make statuses.

Why “Statuses” and Not “Stati”?

Some Latin words change their ending to -i in the plural. For example, cactus becomes cacti, and focus becomes foci.

But status does not follow this rule. In Latin, “status” belongs to a different word group. Its Latin plural was statūs (with a long “u” sound), not “stati.”

In modern English, we do not use the Latin form at all. We use the simple English rule: add -es.

• statuses — correct, always safe, the most common form
• stati — wrong in English (this is not the real Latin plural either)
• statii — wrong (this form does not exist in any language)

Easy way to remember: Just add -es. Status → statuses. That is all you need.

Real-Life Examples With Status and Statuses

• The app shows the statuses of all my deliveries. (the current state of each delivery)
• All employees must update their work statuses every Friday. (each person’s progress)
• The immigration office checks the visa statuses of new arrivals. (the legal standing of each person)
• She posted five statuses on Facebook last night. (social media updates)
• The hospital tracks the health statuses of all patients in the ward. (condition of each patient)

You are doing great. Now let us look at the mistakes many learners make.

Three Mistakes to Avoid With the Plural of Status

Even native English speakers sometimes hesitate with the plural of status — so if you have felt unsure, you are not alone. Latin-origin words can be confusing for everyone.

Mistake 1: Writing “stati” instead of “statuses”

How to remember: Unlike cactus → cacti, the word “status” does not become “stati” in English. “Stati” is not a real word. Always use statuses.

Mistake 2: Writing “status’s” instead of “statuses”

How to remember: An apostrophe (‘) shows who owns something. “The status’s colour” means the colour of the status. But statuses without an apostrophe is the plural — it means more than one status.

Mistake 3: Avoiding the plural altogether

How to remember: If you mean more than one, say statuses. Do not be afraid of the word — it is the correct, natural English plural.

Other words from Latin that follow the English -es rule: virus → viruses, bonus → bonuses, campus → campuses.

Test Yourself: Status or Statuses?

Choose the correct answer for each sentence. Click Check to see if you are right.

Keep Going — You Are Building Something

You just learned the plural of status. That is one more tricky plural you will never get wrong again.

You now know that status becomes statuses because it follows English rules, not Latin ones. But what about the word virus? It also ends in -us and comes from Latin — but its plural has a surprising twist. Is it viruses, virii, or something else entirely?

Next lesson: What’s the Plural of Virus?

Sources

Definition of status.

Origin of status.