en masse

[ahn mas, en, ahn mas]

adverb

1. in a mass; all together; as a group.

   The people rushed to the gate en masse.

en masse

/ ɑ̃ mas /

adverb

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

en masse

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of en masse¹

Borrowed into English from French around 1795–1805

Word History and Origins

Origin of en masse¹

C19: from French

Idioms and Phrases

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.

Example Sentences

Bitcoin miners swept into Texas en masse in 2021 after China banned the practice.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Persuading Labour MPs from all wings of the party to vote en masse for the plans is a far bigger challenge.

Read more on BBC

They crept into his home en masse, climbing through the air-conditioning units, clinging to the window curtains, marching down the wall, trotting across the vaulted ceiling, lurking in the gloom of the basement.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

"They can dominate a food resource just by showing up en masse," Wilson Rankin said.

Read more on Science Daily

In the subsequent flight to safety, the early subprime lenders were denied capital and promptly went bankrupt en masse.

Read more on Literature

Related Words

• altogether