mass

¹ American  

[mas] / mæs /

noun

1. a body of coherent matter, usually of indefinite shape and often of considerable size.

   a mass of dough.

2. Medicine/Medical, Pathology.  an abnormal lump in the body, often in the form of a cyst or tumor.

   The mass they removed was alarmingly large, but the great news is that it was benign.

3. a collection of incoherent particles, parts, or objects regarded as forming one body.

   a mass of sand.

   Synonyms:

   congeries , heap , assemblage

4. aggregate; whole (usually preceded byin the ).

   People, in the mass, mean well.

5. a considerable assemblage, number, or quantity: a mass of troops.

   a mass of errors;

   a mass of troops.

   Synonyms:

   conglomeration , pile , accumulation , collection

6. bulk, size, expanse, or massiveness.

   towers of great mass and strength.

   Synonyms:

   dimension , magnitude

7. Fine Arts.

   1. Painting.  an expanse of color or tone that defines form or shape in general outline rather than in detail.

   2. a shape or three-dimensional volume that has or gives the illusion of having weight, density, and bulk.

8. the main body, bulk, or greater part of anything.

   the great mass of American films.

   Synonyms:

   majority

9. Physics.  the quantity of matter as determined from its weight or from Newton's second law of motion. m

10. Pharmacology.  a preparation of thick, pasty consistency, from which pills are made.

11. the masses, the ordinary or common people as a whole; the working classes or the lower social classes.

    Synonyms:

    plebeians , proletariat

---

adjective

1. 1. pertaining to, involving, or affecting a large number of people.

      mass unemployment;

      mass migrations.

   2. affecting a number of people, but more than two and typically a large number: a mass shooting.

      mass murder;

      a mass shooting.

2. participated in or performed by a large number of people, especially together in a group: mass suicide.

   mass demonstrations;

   mass suicide.

3. pertaining to, involving, or characteristic of the mass of the people: a movie designed to appeal to a mass audience.

   the mass mind;

   a movie designed to appeal to a mass audience.

4. reaching or designed to reach a large number of people.

   television, newspapers, and other means of mass communication.

5. done on a large scale or in large quantities.

   mass destruction.

verb (used without object)

1. to come together in or form a mass or masses.

   The clouds are massing in the west.

verb (used with object)

1. to gather into or dispose in a mass or masses; assemble.

   The houses are massed in blocks.

   Synonyms:

   aggregate , amass , marshal , collect

   Antonyms:

   disperse

Mass. ² American  

abbreviation

1. Massachusetts.

---

Mass ³ American  

[mas] / mæs /

noun

1. the celebration of the Eucharist.

2. (sometimes lowercase)  a musical setting of certain parts of this service, as the Kyrie eleison, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, Benedictus, and Agnus Dei.

---

Mass. ¹ British  

abbreviation

1. Massachusetts

---

mass ² British  

/ ˈmæstlɪ, mæs, ˈmæsɪdlɪ /

noun

1. a large coherent body of matter without a definite shape

2. a collection of the component parts of something

3. a large amount or number, such as a great body of people

4. the main part or majority

   the mass of the people voted against the government's policy

5. in the main; collectively

6. the size of a body; bulk

7. physics a physical quantity expressing the amount of matter in a body. It is a measure of a body's resistance to changes in velocity (inertial mass) and also of the force experienced in a gravitational field (gravitational mass): according to the theory of relativity, inertial and gravitational masses are equal See also inertial mass gravitational mass

8. (in painting, drawing, etc) an area of unified colour, shade, or intensity, usually denoting a solid form or plane

9. pharmacol a pastelike composition of drugs from which pills are made

10. mining an irregular deposit of ore not occurring in veins

---

1. done or occurring on a large scale

   mass hysteria

   mass radiography

2. consisting of a mass or large number, esp of people

   a mass meeting

verb

1. to form (people or things) or (of people or things) to join together into a mass

   the crowd massed outside the embassy

Mass ³ British  

/ mæs, mɑːs /

noun

1. (in the Roman Catholic Church and certain Protestant Churches) the celebration of the Eucharist See also High Mass Low Mass

2. a musical setting of those parts of the Eucharistic service sung by choir or congregation

---

mass Scientific  

/ măs /

1. A measure of the amount of matter contained in or constituting a physical body. In classical mechanics, the mass of an object is related to the force required to accelerate it and hence is related to its inertia, and is essential to Newton's laws of motion. Objects that have mass interact with each other through the force of gravity. In Special Relativity, the observed mass of an object is dependent on its velocity with respect to the observer, with higher velocity entailing higher observed mass. Mass is measured in many different units; in most scientific applications, the SI unit of kilogram is used.

2. See Note at weight See also rest energy General Relativity

---

Mass ¹ Cultural  

1. In music, a musical setting for the texts used in the Christian Church at the celebration of the Mass, or sacrament of Communion. Most Masses have been written for use in the Roman Catholic Church.

---

Mass ² Cultural  

1. The common name in the Roman Catholic Church, and among some members of the Anglican Communion, for the sacrament of Communion.

---

mass ³ Cultural  

1. In physics, the property of matter that measures its resistance to acceleration. Roughly, the mass of an object is a measure of the number of atoms in it. The basic unit of measurement for mass is the kilogram. (See Newton's laws of motion; compare weight.)

---

Related Words

See size ¹.

Discover More

Many composers have written Masses; among them are Johann Sebastian Bach, Franz Josef Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Franz Schubert, Leonard Bernstein, and Duke Ellington.

In the Middle Ages in England, mass meant a religious feast day in honor of a specific person; thus, “Christ's Mass,” or Christmas, is the feast day of Christ; and Michaelmas is the feast day of the angel Michael.

Other Word Forms

• massed adjective
• massedly adverb
• unmassed adjective

Etymology

Origin of mass¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English masse, from Latin massa “mass,” from Greek mâza “barley cake,” akin to mássein “to knead”

Origin of Mass¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English masse, Old English mæsse, from Vulgar Latin messa (unrecorded), from Late Latin missa, feminine of Latin missus “sent,” past participle of mittere “to send, dismiss”; perhaps extracted from a phrase in the service containing a feminine subject and missa est “(it) is sent”

Example Sentences

Like the British troops who readily acknowledged the “pluck” of the Dervishes, Mr. Hart is impressed by their willingness to face the massed firepower of rifles, machine guns and artillery.

From The Wall Street Journal

The city council said it had suspended collections across the city for the day due to the "mass pickets and protests" across its depots.

From BBC

While questioning the correct pronunciation of “niche,” Gaffigan noted that his other hobby, gardening, isn’t funny enough to support a special, and that his spirits-centric jokes weren’t for mass consumption.

From The Wall Street Journal

Artists, mass media, infrastructure — the thriving triad was extraordinary to watch erupt.

From Los Angeles Times

The church rose to global prominence in the 1970s and 80s, becoming known for mass weddings often held in stadiums.

From Barron's

Related Words

• crowd
• group
• horde
• lot
• lump
• majority
• mob
• number
• piece
• pile
• throng