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en masse

[ ahn mas, en; French ahn mas ]
/ ɑn ˈmæs, ɛn; French ɑ̃ ˈmas /
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR en masse ON THESAURUS.COM

adverb

in a mass; all together; as a group: The people rushed to the gate en masse.

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RELATED WORDS

altogether, bodily, ensemble, generally, jointly, together, unanimously, wholly, collectively, communally, cooperatively, unitedly

Nearby words

  1. en déshabillé,
  2. en face,
  3. en famille,
  4. en fête,
  5. en garde,
  6. en papillote,
  7. en passant,
  8. en pension,
  9. en plein,
  10. en plein air

Origin of en masse

Borrowed into English from French around 1795–1805
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for en masse

  • It was mass production—you did things by rote, en-masse—no individuality.

    David Lannarck, Midget|George S. Harney

British Dictionary definitions for en masse

en masse

/ (French ɑ̃ mas) /

adverb

in a group, body, or mass; as a whole; all together

Word Origin for en masse

C19: from French
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for en masse

en masse

French, literally "in mass."

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

Culture definitions for en masse

en masse

[ (ahn mas) ]

A French phrase meaning “in a large body”: “The protesters left en masse for the White House.”

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Idioms and Phrases with en masse

en masse

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.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.