amass
Americanverb (used with object)
-
amasses,
present (3rd person singular)
-
amassed,
past participle, past
-
amassing
present participle
-
to gather for oneself; collect as one's own.
to amass a huge amount of money.
- Synonyms:
- accumulate
-
to collect into a mass or pile; gather.
He amassed his papers for his memoirs.
verb (used without object)
-
amasses,
present (3rd person singular)
-
amassed,
past participle, past
-
amassing
present participle
verb
-
(tr) to accumulate or collect (esp riches, etc)
-
to gather in a heap; bring together
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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amasssimple
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amassessimple
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have amassedperfect
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has amassedperfect
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am amassingprogressive
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are amassingprogressive
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is amassingprogressive
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have been amassingperfect progressive
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has been amassingperfect progressive
Past
-
amassedsimple
-
had amassedperfect
-
was amassingprogressive
-
were amassingprogressive
-
had been amassingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of amass
First recorded in 1475–85; from French amasser, equivalent to a- a- 5 ( def. ) + masse mass ( def. ) + -er, infinitive suffix
Explanation
Amass means bring together or assemble. It can be a real shock to enter a room and see your amassed friends shouting "Surprise!" Although the word amass should not be confused with "a mass," as in the thing you never want to hear has been found on your lung, they both derive from the Latin massa "lump." When you think about it, this makes sense. Whether soldiers or cancer cells, things that come together to form a whole — in this case, a tumor or an army — are amassed.
Vocabulary lists containing amass
Gimme, Gimme, Gimme
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Promises to Keep
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A Very Large Expanse of Sea
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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:
He inflated Navatek’s payroll to amass loans of $13 million, according to a federal indictment.
From Salon ● Sep. 23, 2026
Brown family members have used their fortunes to buy horse farms, collect art and amass a weapons collection—including Buffalo Bill’s rifle—now displayed at a local museum.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026
But you don’t need access to startup shares to amass significant money in these accounts.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026
For reimbursements, get ready to amass a boatload of documentation.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 9, 2026
“I wonder if any of them really did amass power that way,” Denny muses.
From "Clairboyance" by Kristiana Kahakauwila
William amasses a mighty army to fight Harold for the crown, and the two sides meet at the Battle of Hastings.
From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026
Rogan, the exhibition amasses a remarkable range of portable abstract objects.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 29, 2026
If he amasses 223 yards passing, Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford will move past Eli Manning into 10th place on the NFL’s career passing yardage list.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 27, 2024
The president, in turn, has played the two sides off against each other to ensure, analysts say, that neither amasses too much power.
From New York Times ● May 5, 2023
Maybe if she amasses $4,000, her brother Marco will help her invest it in Honduras.
From "Enrique's Journey" by Sonia Nazario
Berkshire Hathaway has amassed a stake in Lennar worth more than $2 billion.
From Barron's ● Oct. 1, 2026
A few, such as Jay Shetty and Alex Cooper, have amassed enough of an audience to build media companies around themselves and their brands – which are essentially one and the same.
From Salon ● Sep. 27, 2026
Walton has since amassed 85 amateur bouts, twice won silver at the Junior Olympics and is unbeaten as a professional with three wins and a draw.
From BBC ● Sep. 26, 2026
He amassed a fortune, much of it held in cryptocurrency, U.S. court records show, and lived a life of luxury while on the run, sometimes hiding in plain sight.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 2026
They have amassed quite a sack of coins for their efforts.
From "Salt to the Sea" by Ruta Sepetys
The FAI is now conducting its own investigation by amassing high-quality footage of the match, including audio from pitchside microphones, in order to establish whether or not abuse was directed at Idah.
From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2026
On Sunday, Bloomberg reported that Mark Fischbach, a filmmaker and YouTube personality with nearly 40 million subscribers, had become the GoPro’s biggest shareholder after amassing an 8.5% stake in the company.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 2, 2026
The troubles have opened a rift within the extended family that for more than 150 years has controlled Brown-Forman, amassing a collective wealth that Forbes puts at $11 billion.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026
Some experts have warned that amassing too much space junk around Earth could lead to a dangerous chain reaction of collisions known as the "Kessler syndrome."
From Barron's ● Aug. 5, 2026
With the victory, Seabiscuit took back the lead in the earnings race, amassing about $9,000 more than War Admiral.
From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand
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.
