What does SSS stand for in the context of triangle congruence?

In the context of triangle congruence, SSS stands for "Side, Side, Side." This principle states that if three sides of one triangle are congruent to three sides of another triangle, then the two triangles are congruent. This means that not only are the sides equal in length, but the overall shapes of the triangles are identical as well. The congruence comes from the fact that having all three sides equal forces the angles to also be equal, thus ensuring the two triangles are the same in shape and size.

The other options pertain to different triangle congruence criteria, such as Angle-Side-Angle and Side-Angle-Side, which involve a combination of sides and angles rather than requiring all three sides to be equal as per the SSS criterion. This distinctive requirement of SSS makes it a fundamental theorem in geometry regarding triangle congruence.