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

See Examples For:

en masse

As the lights suddenly turned off across Havana, residents who were sat outside to get some respite from the summer heat audibly groaned en masse.

From Barron's ● Aug. 3, 2026

Even more egregious is the case of AI companies buying and destroying rare books en masse in the process of scanning them for data.

From Salon ● Jul. 28, 2026

At the end of Season 1, their cover being blown, and humans being famously weird when it comes to extraterrestrials — you’ve seen the movies — they return home en masse, except for Sugar.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 19, 2026

It is unclear when Burnham will formally launch his leadership challenge, or if Labour ministers will rise up en masse to try to topple the prime minister.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026

And the middle-aged membership of a women’s bridge club arrived en masse.

From "In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote

Related Words

• altogether