The Meaning of SAS: What It Is and How To Use It

Do you know what the abbreviation SAS means? This article will provide you with all of the knowledge you need on the acronym SAS, including its definition, usage, and more!

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What does the abbreviation SAS stand for?

According to Collins Dictionary, SAS stands for Special Air Service. This is a group of specially trained British Soldiers in the British Army who are assigned to work on clandestine operations, difficult or top secret military operations.

According to The Free Dictionary, the abbreviation SAS also has a plethora of other definitions. While these are less common than the term Special Air Service, they are still accurate definitions. One should be careful when using the rest of these abbreviations as not to cause confusion. Whenever using an acronym, make sure that the context is abundantly clear so that people do not misinterpret what you are saying.

In numerous industries, including technology, business, government and military, the abbreviation SAS can stand for any of the following:

  • Shock Absorbing System
  • Safe and Secure (various companies)
  • Sing Along Song
  • St Augustine’s School (Gold Coast, Australia)
  • School of Applied Studies (various schools)
  • Short And Sweet (speech)
  • Statement on Auditing Standards
  • Sugar and Spice
  • Statement of Accounting Standard
  • System Architecture Specification
  • Servicio Andaluz de Salud
  • Saint Andrew’s School
  • Secret Air Service (UK)
  • Social Anxiety Syndrome (psychology)
  • Software-as-Service
  • Staff and Associate Specialist
  • Safety At Sea
  • School of Administrative Studies (various schools)
  • Status and Sense
  • Single Attached Station (FDDI)
  • Stay Aspen Snowmass (Aspen, CO)
  • Service Assurance (Sprint)
  • Small Astronomy Satellite
  • Sanger Adult School (California)
  • Security Alarm System
  • Strong Arm Steady (Rap Group)
  • Space Access Society
  • San Antonio Spurs (basketball team)
  • Silver Age Sentinels (superhero role-playing game)
  • Spool Access Support
  • Secondary Air Supply
  • Semester At Sea
  • Science Analysis System
  • Software Application Support (Cisco)
  • Speak and Spell
  • Syracuse Academy of Science (Syracuse, NY)
  •  Scandinavian Airline Systems (ICAO code)
  • Substance Abuse Services (behavioral health)
  • Spine Arthroplasty Society
  • Statistically Assigned Sockets
  • Support Administrative Services
  • Steering Angle Sensor
  • Sealed Authenticator System (US DoD)
  • Space and Airborne Systems (Raytheon Company)
  • Student Administration System
  • School of Advanced Study
  • Secure Attention Sequence (Microsoft Windows NT/2000)
  • Statistical Analysis System
  • Special Aquatic Site (US Army)
  • Singapore American School
  • Special Ammunition Storage (US DoD)
  • San Andreas Stories
  • Safe and Sound (various organizations)
  • Second Amendment Sisters, Inc.
  • Static Analysis Symposium
  • Service Automation Suite (software)
  • School of Arts and Sciences
  • Student Academic Services
  • Stand Alone Server
  • Scottish Ambulance Service
  • Society for Amateur Scientists (est. 1994)
  • Satellite Data Acquisition System
  • Shanghai American School (Shanghai, China)
  • Solid Axle Swap
  • Stand Alone Store
  • Stand Alone Service
  • Solar Array System
  • Simultaneous Action System
  • Short Attention Span (band)
  • Space Adaptation Syndrome
  • Stability Augmentation System
  • Security Administration System
  • Sales Accounting System
  • Small Area Statistics (UK)
  • Serial-Attached SCSI (Small Computer System Interface)
  • System(s) Acquisition Support
  • Statistical Analysis Software
  • Security Assessment Service (computer security)
  • Swiss Academy of Sciences
  • Society for Applied Sociology
  • Southern Audio Services (Baton Rouge, LA)
  • Social Anxiety Support (website; est. 2000)
  • Sweet and Sour
  • Self-Assessment Scale
  • Sow-a-Seed Foundation (Malaysia)
  • Shared Administrative Services (various organizations)
  • Serial Attached Scsi
  • Shinto Association of Spiritual Leadership
  • Student Academic Support (various schools)
  • Society for Animation Studies (est. 1987)
  • Schoeller Arca Systems (various locations)
  • Society for Armenian Studies
  • Student Access and Success
  • Single Audio System
  • Separate Address Space
  • Survival at Sea (handbook)
  • Subaortic Stenosis (cardiology)
  • Sensors Applications Symposium
  • Software Application Support
  • System of Active Stability (Toyota forklift stability system terminology)
  • Slot Accounting System (casinos)
  • Surplus Activated Sludge
  • Server Automation System
  • Senior and Adult Services (various locations)
  • Sub-Arctic Summer
  • Software Applications Specialist
  • Single Attachment System
  • Secure Authentication Services
  • Subarachnoid Space (band)
  • Student Assessment System (various organizations)
  • Society of American Silversmiths
  • Stand Alone System
  • Statement of Affiliation Status (universities)
  • System Administrators
  • Saturated Absorption Spectroscopy (physics)
  • Self-rating Anxiety Scale (Zung)
  • Switch Access System
  • Situational Awareness System
  • Specialty Answering Service (telecommunications)
  • System Administration Services (Sprint)
  • SRS Audio Sandbox (software)
  • Student Achievement Services (various schools)
  • Shadow Address Space
  • Strategy and Security
  • Student Assistance Scheme (various schools)
  • Student Accessibility Services (various organizations)
  • San Antonio Shoes
  • Stand Alone Smlc
  • Safety and Automation System
  • Single Attachment Station
  • Security Announcement System
  • Senior Administrative Staff (various organizations)
  • Service Acquisition Strategy (US Army)
  • Sponsor a Student (program; various locations)
  • Self-Anchored Suspension (bridges)
  • Support a School
  • School Administration System (various locations)
  • Synthetic Aperture Sonar (sidescan sonar imagery)
  • Stand Alone Switch
  • Special Airport Systems
  • Security Associations
  • Stretch Arm Strong (band)
  • Storytelling Adventure System
  • Student Advising Services (various schools)
  • Society for Applied Spectroscopy
  • Statistical Analysis System (software)
  • Secure Access System (Nokia)
  • Studies, Analysis, and Simulation (panel)
  • Security Advisory Services
  • Southern All Stars
  • Server Attached Storage
  • Severity Assessment Scale (alcohol withdrawal)
  • Sword and Skull (gaming)
  • Space Aggressor Squadron
  • Society for Astronomical Sciences
  • Software Accomplishment Summary
  • Security Administration Server
  • Scientific Analysis Section (US FBI)
  • Switched Access Services
  • Society for Archaeological Sciences
  • Secure Association Service
  • Strategic Algebra Support
  • Surfers Against Sewage
  • Sino-American Silicon (Taiwan)
  • Study Area Specification
  • Short Authentication String
  • Substation Automation System
  • Sequences Annotated by Structure
  • St. Andrews-Sewanee (Sewanee, TN)
  • Student Administration and Support (various locations)

What is the history of the Special Air Service?

According to Brittanica, the SAS is an elite military force that is a part of the United Kingdom Special Forces, or UKSF. The SAS is made up of people who are specially trained for special ops, counterterrorism, and surveillance missions. The SAS was formed in July 1941 during World War II, in order to create a force that could secretly independently operate behind enemy lines. It was founded by David Stirling. The SAS has operated during World War II, the Malayan Emergency, in the Middle East, and in Northern Ireland.

Overall, SAS stands for Special Air Service. While the abbreviation SAS also has a plethora of other definitions, it is most often used to refer to a group of highly trained soldiers who work on secret and difficult military tasks, particularly in British English.

Sources:

  1. https://acronyms.thefreedictionary.com/SAS
  2. https://www.collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/english/sas#:~:text=The%20SAS%20is%20a%20group,for%20’Special%20Air%20Service’.
  3. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Special-Air-Service