mess
Americannoun
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a dirty, untidy, or disordered condition.
The room was in a mess.
- Antonyms:
- order
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a person or thing that is dirty, untidy, or disordered.
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a state of embarrassing confusion.
My affairs are in a mess.
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an unpleasant or difficult situation.
She got into a mess driving without a license.
- Synonyms:
- pickle, plight, predicament
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a dirty or untidy mass, litter, or jumble.
a mess of papers.
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a group regularly taking their meals together.
-
the meal so taken.
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Naval. messroom.
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a quantity of food sufficient for a dish or a single occasion.
to pick a mess of sweet corn for dinner.
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a sloppy or unappetizing preparation of food.
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a dish or quantity of soft or liquid food.
to cook up a nice mess of pottage.
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a person whose life or affairs are in a state of confusion, especially a person with a confused or disorganized moral or psychological outlook.
verb (used with object)
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to make dirty or untidy (often followed byup ).
Don't mess the room.
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to make a mess or muddle of (affairs, responsibilities, etc.) (often followed byup ).
They messed the deal.
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to supply with meals, as military personnel.
-
to treat roughly; beat up (usually followed byup ).
The gang messed him up.
verb (used without object)
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to eat in company, especially as a member of a mess.
-
to make a dirty or untidy mess.
verb phrase
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mess up
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mess around / about
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Informal. to busy oneself without purpose or plan; work aimlessly or halfheartedly; putter.
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Informal. to waste time; loaf.
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Informal. to meddle or interfere.
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Informal. to involve or associate oneself, especially for immoral or unethical purposes.
His wife accused him of messing around with gamblers.
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Slang. to trifle sexually; philander.
-
-
mess in / with to intervene officiously; meddle.
You'll get no thanks for messing in the affairs of others.
noun
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a state of confusion or untidiness, esp if dirty or unpleasant
the house was in a mess
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a chaotic or troublesome state of affairs; muddle
his life was a mess
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informal a dirty or untidy person or thing
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archaic a portion of food, esp soft or semiliquid food
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a place where service personnel eat or take recreation
an officers' mess
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a group of people, usually servicemen, who eat together
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the meal so taken
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a material gain involving the sacrifice of a higher value
verb
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to muddle or dirty
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(intr) to make a mess
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to interfere; meddle
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(intr; often foll by with or together) military to group together, esp for eating
Etymology
Origin of mess
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English mes, from Old French: “course at a meal,” from Late Latin missus “(something) sent” (i.e., put on the table), noun use of past participle of Latin mittere “to send”
Explanation
A mess is a generally dirty state, like your bedroom, your hair, or anything else that's untidy. If you make a huge mess when you cook, you probably try to get someone else to do the clean-up. In addition to describing a jumble of stuff, mess can describe a confused or difficult situation, like the mess your finances are in if you have seven credit cards. When you mess something up, you cause disorder and maybe even wreck something, like a friendship you messed up by gossiping. And you might eat in a mess hall, a cafeteria for members of the armed forces — and it's probably very neat and orderly, not messy.
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.
With a dimpled smile and a halo of salt-and-pepper curls, she looks like the type of person you want to talk to when your life is a mess.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 23, 2026
The war has caused a mess throughout the entire oil market, but jet fuel is a particular point of pain, and Europe has been hit the hardest of all.
From Barron's • Apr. 23, 2026
A lot of players left, it was all a bit of a mess, but they regrouped and had another great season.
From BBC • Apr. 22, 2026
The production feels like a jumble, and the casting doesn’t help sort out the mess.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 22, 2026
Today was not the day to mess with me.
From "Glitch" by Laura Martin
Definitions 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.
