massage
Americannoun
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massages
plural
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the act or art of treating the body by rubbing, kneading, patting, or the like, to stimulate circulation, increase suppleness, relieve tension, etc.
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Slang. attentive or indulgent treatment; pampering.
ego massage.
verb (used with object)
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massages,
present (3rd person singular)
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massaged,
past participle, past
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massaging
present participle
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to treat by massage.
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Slang. to treat with special care and attention; coddle or pamper.
The store massages its regular customers with gifts and private sales.
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Informal.
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to manipulate, maneuver, or handle skillfully.
to massage a bill through the Senate.
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to manipulate, organize, or rearrange (data, figures, or the like) to produce a specific result, especially a favorable one.
The auditors discovered that the company had massaged the books.
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noun
verb
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to give a massage to
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to treat (stiffness, aches, etc) by a massage
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to manipulate (statistics, data, etc) so that they appear to support a particular interpretation or to be better than they are; doctor
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to boost someone's sense of self-esteem by flattery
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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massagesimple
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massagessimple
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have massagedperfect
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has massagedperfect
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am massagingprogressive
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are massagingprogressive
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is massagingprogressive
-
have been massagingperfect progressive
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has been massagingperfect progressive
Past
-
massagedsimple
-
had massagedperfect
-
was massagingprogressive
-
were massagingprogressive
-
had been massagingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of massage
1875–80; < French, equivalent to mass ( er ) to massage (< Arabic massa to handle) + -age -age
Explanation
When someone rubs your muscles to help relax them, that's a massage. Feels good, doesn't it? When someone tells you how great you are to gain favor, they massage your ego. Not bad, either. The word massage has a mysterious background, possibly coming from the Arabic massa, meaning "to touch," finding its way to 19th Century France by way of Napoleon. Would you accept a foot massage from Napoleon? Or, it might have worked its way to France from India, where amassar carries the meaning "knead." The year 1913 saw the first massage parlor, which was really a brothel. Today massage is a recognized form of physical therapy and is, of course, practiced by amateurs too. A little to the left, please.
Vocabulary lists containing massage
Brown Girl Dreaming
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English Words Derived from French, List 5
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Towers Falling
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
But although athletes feel less sore and perceptions of recovery are improved after a massage, objective measures of performance and muscle function are modest and inconsistent.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 14, 2026
In addition, the home comes with a gym, steam shower, massage and salon rooms, a home theater, game room, and two private balconies.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 5, 2026
The technique is a form of lymphatic drainage massage, adapted from a medical treatment and shared as a beauty trend.
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026
And even the go-for-broke performance of Mr. Ribisi, with its barely contained insanity, requires something to massage our sympathies.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
Perhaps he was healing her with his slime—for all the fishes are said to go to the Tench for medicine—or perhaps it was by touch or massage or hypnotism.
From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White
The report concluded that KFA staff reported the expenses under false pretences, claiming the money was used for food and drink or massages.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
The apothecary hosts meditations, sound baths, tarot card readings and massages there to help bring the mind and body into balance.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026
What you get: TSA with no lines and other amenities including massages and being chauffeured to your commercial plane.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026
I have watched videos of people doing cold plunges, giving themselves ear massages and contorting themselves into impossible stretches all in the name of fixing dysregulation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 19, 2026
I also started using acupuncture to treat old injuries and weekly massages and ice baths to help prevent new ones.
From "Proud" by Ibtihaj Muhammad
Then, they wrote more songs and massaged those for another two years before finishing the recording and sending the album to be mixed in 2025.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2026
It features whole leaves of romaine lettuce massaged by hand with a dressing of fresh garlic, lime, Worcestershire, soft-poached eggs and Cantabrian anchovies.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 31, 2026
The filler is then massaged to give an even look, which the patient continues as home.
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026
Petty crimes dropped, as did homicides, according to official data, though some disputed the data as possibly massaged to benefit authorities.
From Barron's ● May 10, 2026
Jerome massaged the back of her neck as he spoke.
From "Small Steps" by Louis Sachar
Chen began by massaging my scalp for about 10 minutes, as I tried not to fall asleep.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 6, 2026
Standing around a kitchen island with a small group of other food writers, I pull on a pair of plastic gloves and begin massaging a bright red paste into wedges of cabbage.
From BBC ● Dec. 13, 2025
While Cyndee is massaging her sore feet on a bench, Bert strikes up a casual conversation with a young woman the next bench over.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 19, 2025
When you’re wringing billions of dollars in profits out of the sickly, you’ve got to put some money into massaging public opinion.
From Slate ● Mar. 3, 2025
I needed to keep moving, but it felt nice sitting there with the woman now earnestly massaging my palms in a way that was so sweet, even though it seemed strange, too.
From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
