scalable
Scalable in preference to scaleable.
Scandinavia
Norway, Sweden and Denmark. Does not include Iceland or Finland. See also Nordic countries.
screensaver
One word.
seasons
Lower case: spring, summer, autumn, winter.
server side, server-side
Two words as a noun, hyphenated as an adjective: server-side validation; validation on the server side.
set up, setup
Two words as a verb; one word as a noun or adjective.
share together
Almost always redundant. You can’t share anything on your own.
shoo-in
Not “shoe-in”, which is a nonsensical misspelling.
short-term
Hyphenated as an adjective; two separate words as a noun. Your short‑term plans relate to your actions in the short term.
sign-off
Hyphenated as a noun; two separate words as a verb.
sign-up
Hyphenated as a noun; two separate words as a verb.
site map, sitemap
Two words except in the specific context of an XML sitemap (as used by Google and other public search engines) – then it’s one word.
SlideShare
sliver, slither
A very thin slice of something (cake or bacon, for example) is a sliver. Not a slither. Slither is what a snake does.
smartphone
One word.
solar system
Not capitalised, regardless of whether it’s our solar system or another solar system.
south
See compass points.
southeast
See compass points.
southern Africa
The S of southern is not capitalised because it’s not a political or administrative region. (But South Africa does, of course, take capital S, because it’s the name of a country.)
southwest
See compass points.
spring [season]
Not capitalised.
standalone
One word.
startup
It’s one word, not hyphenated, when used in the sense of a company or project initiated by an entrepreneur.
storytelling
One word.
straitjacket
Not straightjacket.
strata, stratum
Plural: strata. Singular: stratum.
style guide
Two words.
subcontractor
No hyphen.
summer
Not capitalised.
sync
In sync rather than in synch.
systematic, systemic
Sometimes confused.
- Systematic means pretty much the same as methodical: done or acting according to a set method or system.
- Systemic means relating to a (whole) system: a systemic disease is widespread, as opposed to a localised disease. If you read of “systematic bias”, the author almost certainly meant “systemic bias”.