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

Cool heads would do everything possible to avert a U.S. government default, and it would take a lot for foreign borrowers to dump Treasuries en masse.

Read more on Barron's

She twice offered to take the company private, only to be rejected by two different boards of directors, one that resigned en masse and a second that put the company into bankruptcy.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Federal employees are fired en masse, and then begrudgingly rehired piecemeal under court order.

Read more on Salon

But Okamura's call for Ukrainian refugees to be deported en masse will likely fall on deaf ears.

Read more on BBC

Since federal agents had descended on California, apprehending gardeners, day laborers and car wash workers en masse, residents in immigrant-heavy pockets like this one had mostly stayed inside.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• altogether