en masse

American  

[ahn mas, en, ahn mas] / ɑn ˈmæs, ɛn, ɑ̃ ˈmas /

adverb

1. in a mass; all together; as a group.

   The people rushed to the gate en masse.

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en masse British  

/ ɑ̃ mas /

adverb

1. in a group, body, or mass; as a whole; all together

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en masse Cultural  

1. A French phrase meaning “in a large body”: “The protesters left en masse for the White House.”

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en masse Idioms  

1. In one group or body; all together. For example, The activists marched en masse to the capitol. This French term, with exactly the same meaning, was adopted into English about 1800.

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Etymology

Origin of en masse

Borrowed into English from French around 1795–1805

Example Sentences

Neither the Fort nor HiberTec will be saving anyone en masse immediately.

From BBC • Jun. 3, 2026

On the Aybasti plateau in the northeastern Ordu province, villagers turned out en masse earlier this month to protest plans to mine an area they use for farming.

From Barron's • May 15, 2026

One department store worker told the BBC that shoppers were being deterred by children "coming in en masse, creating noise and chaos".

From BBC • May 7, 2026

Elected officials, labor unions and other groups that had endorsed Swalwell abandoned him en masse after the allegations against him were publicized.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 13, 2026

People didn’t tune in en masse to watch comic book artists sketch on TV, did they?

From "When Dimple Met Rishi" by Sandhya Menon

Related Words

• altogether