en masse

American  

[ahn mas, en, ahn mas] / ɑn ˈmæs, ɛn, ɑ̃ ˈmas /

adverb

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

   The people rushed to the gate en masse.

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en masse British  

/ ɑ̃ mas /

adverb

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

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en masse Cultural  

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

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en masse Idioms  

1. 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.

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Etymology

Origin of en masse

Borrowed into English from French around 1795–1805

Example Sentences

Neither the Fort nor HiberTec will be saving anyone en masse immediately.

From BBC • Jun. 3, 2026

One department store worker told the BBC that shoppers were being deterred by children "coming in en masse, creating noise and chaos".

From BBC • May 7, 2026

“AI won’t replace people en masse but people with AI will replace people without AI,” Tan said, something he has repeatedly told employees at town halls.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 16, 2026

Elected officials, labor unions and other groups that had endorsed Swalwell abandoned him en masse after the allegations against him were publicized.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 13, 2026

At the close of the meeting, UOCI’s newly elected president, Rubye Gattis, a twenty-eight-year-old mother of four, led members out of the gym and they headed downtown, en masse, bringing traffic to a standstill.

From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson

Related Words

• altogether