mass

[ mas ]

/ mæs /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR mass ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a body of coherent matter, usually of indefinite shape and often of considerable size: a mass of dough.

a collection of incoherent particles, parts, or objects regarded as forming one body: a mass of sand.

aggregate; whole (usually preceded by in the): People, in the mass, mean well.

a considerable assemblage, number, or quantity: a mass of errors; a mass of troops.

bulk, size, expanse, or massiveness: towers of great mass and strength.

Fine Arts.

Painting. an expanse of color or tone that defines form or shape in general outline rather than in detail.
a shape or three-dimensional volume that has or gives the illusion of having weight, density, and bulk.

the main body, bulk, or greater part of anything: the great mass of American films.

Physics. the quantity of matter as determined from its weight or from Newton's second law of motion. Abbreviation: mCompare weight(def 2), relativistic mass, rest mass.

Pharmacology. a preparation of thick, pasty consistency, from which pills are made.

the masses, the ordinary or common people as a whole; the working classes or the lower social classes.

adjective

pertaining to, involving, or affecting a large number of people: mass unemployment; mass migrations; mass murder.

participated in or performed by a large number of people, especially together in a group: mass demonstrations; mass suicide.

pertaining to, involving, or characteristic of the mass of the people: the mass mind; a movie designed to appeal to a mass audience.

reaching or designed to reach a large number of people: television, newspapers, and other means of mass communication.

done on a large scale or in large quantities: mass destruction.

verb (used without object)

to come together in or form a mass or masses: The clouds are massing in the west.

verb (used with object)

to gather into or dispose in a mass or masses; assemble: The houses are massed in blocks.

Nearby words

masqat, masque, masque biliaire, masquer, masquerade, mass, mass affluent, mass book, mass card, mass defect, mass extinction

Origin of mass

1350–1400; Middle English masse < Latin massa mass < Greek mâza barley cake, akin to mássein to knead

Related forms

mass·ed·ly

[mas-id-lee, mast-lee] /ˈmæs ɪd li, ˈmæst li/, adverbun·massed, adjective

Can be confused

massed mast

Synonym study

5. See size¹.

Definition for mass (2 of 3)

Mass

[ mas ]

/ mæs /

noun

the celebration of the Eucharist.Compare High Mass, Low Mass.

(sometimes lowercase) a musical setting of certain parts of this service, as the Kyrie eleison, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, Benedictus, and Agnus Dei.

Origin of Mass

before 900; Middle English masse, Old English mæsse < Vulgar Latin *messa, Late Latin missa, formally feminine of Latin missus, past participle of mittere to send, dismiss; perhaps extracted from a phrase in the service with missa est and a feminine subject

Definition for mass (3 of 3)

Mass.

Massachusetts.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for mass

Their bodies were later found incinerated and buried in mass graves outside of town.
Why Mexicans Are Enraged by Obama’s Big Tuesday Meeting|Ruben Navarrette Jr.|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
“The United States had gone to war declaring it must destroy an active weapons of mass destruction program,” the Times reported.
Political Memes That Absolutely Must Die in 2015|Asawin Suebsaeng|January 1, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Google itself has taken a break and put plans for mass production on hold.
You Were Wrong About Miley & Bitcoin: 2014’s Failed Predictions|Nina Strochlic|December 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
There were mass closures of churches, mosques, and monasteries, and new taxes on religious facilities.
Remembering the Russian Priest Who Fought the Orthodox Church|Cathy Young|December 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST

The number of protests in China between 2006 and 2010 doubled to 180,000, and those are only the reported “mass incidents.”
China’s Internet Is Freer Than You Think|Brendon Hong|December 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Inside, a sweating adjutant toiled at a mass of papers on the desk before him.
Our Casualty And Other Stories|James Owen Hannay, AKA George A. Birmingham
Elizabeth had loved Edward, would she not go with Mary to hear a mass for the repose of his soul?
In the Days of Queen Elizabeth|Eva March Tappan
It was too dark for her to see his efforts to show her a way out of the mass of fallen rubbish.
Chatterbox, 1906|Various
It cannot be accounted for entirely by the friction, as the removal of the paper allows the sand to drop in a mass.
Pressure, Resistance, and Stability of Earth|J. C. Meem
Apparently education was never designed in Belgium for the mass of the people.
Behind the Scenes in Warring Germany|Edward Lyell Fox

British Dictionary definitions for mass (1 of 3)

mass

/ (mæs) /

noun

a large coherent body of matter without a definite shape

a collection of the component parts of something

a large amount or number, such as a great body of people

the main part or majoritythe mass of the people voted against the government's policy

in the mass in the main; collectively

the size of a body; bulk

physics a physical quantity expressing the amount of matter in a body. It is a measure of a body's resistance to changes in velocity (inertial mass) and also of the force experienced in a gravitational field (gravitational mass): according to the theory of relativity, inertial and gravitational masses are equalSee also inertial mass, gravitational mass

(in painting, drawing, etc) an area of unified colour, shade, or intensity, usually denoting a solid form or plane

pharmacol a pastelike composition of drugs from which pills are made

mining an irregular deposit of ore not occurring in veins

adjective

done or occurring on a large scalemass hysteria; mass radiography

consisting of a mass or large number, esp of peoplea mass meeting

verb

to form (people or things) or (of people or things) to join together into a massthe crowd massed outside the embassy

Derived Forms

massed, adjectivemassedly (ˈmæsɪdlɪ, ˈmæstlɪ), adverb

Word Origin for mass

C14: from Old French masse, from Latin massa that which forms a lump, from Greek maza barley cake; perhaps related to Greek massein to knead

British Dictionary definitions for mass (2 of 3)

Mass

/ (mæs, mɑːs) /

noun

(in the Roman Catholic Church and certain Protestant Churches) the celebration of the EucharistSee also High Mass, Low Mass

a musical setting of those parts of the Eucharistic service sung by choir or congregation

Word Origin for Mass

Old English mæsse, from Church Latin missa, ultimately from Latin mittere to send away; perhaps derived from the concluding dismissal in the Roman Mass, Ite, missa est, Go, it is the dismissal

British Dictionary definitions for mass (3 of 3)

Mass.

abbreviation for

Massachusetts

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

Medicine definitions for mass

mass

[ măs ]

n.

A unified body of matter with no specific shape.

A grouping of individual parts or elements that compose a unified body of unspecified size or quantity.

The physical volume or bulk of a solid body.

The measure of the quantity of matter that a body or an object contains. The mass of the body is not dependent on gravity and therefore is different from but proportional to its weight.

A thick, pasty pharmacological mixture containing drugs from which pills are formed.

One of the seven fundamental SI units, the kilogram.

massa

Science definitions for mass

mass

[ măs ]

A measure of the amount of matter contained in or constituting a physical body. In classical mechanics, the mass of an object is related to the force required to accelerate it and hence is related to its inertia, and is essential to Newton's laws of motion. Objects that have mass interact with each other through the force of gravity. In Special Relativity, the observed mass of an object is dependent on its velocity with respect to the observer, with higher velocity entailing higher observed mass. Mass is measured in many different units; in most scientific applications, the SI unit of kilogram is used. See Note at weight. See also rest energy General Relativity.

Culture definitions for mass (1 of 3)

Mass

The common name in the Roman Catholic Church, and among some members of the Anglican Communion, for the sacrament of Communion.

Note

In the Middle Ages in England, mass meant a religious feast day in honor of a specific person; thus, “Christ's Mass,” or Christmas, is the feast day of Christ; and Michaelmas is the feast day of the angel Michael.

Culture definitions for mass (2 of 3)

Mass

In music, a musical setting for the texts used in the Christian Church at the celebration of the Mass, or sacrament of Communion. Most Masses have been written for use in the Roman Catholic Church.

Note

Many composers have written Masses; among them are Johann Sebastian Bach, Franz Josef Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Franz Schubert, Leonard Bernstein, and Duke Ellington.

Culture definitions for mass (3 of 3)

mass

In physics, the property of matter that measures its resistance to acceleration. Roughly, the mass of an object is a measure of the number of atoms in it. The basic unit of measurement for mass is the kilogram. (See Newton's laws of motion; compare weight.)