mass

[ mas ]

/ mæs /

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noun

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

Medicine/Medical, Pathology. an abnormal lump in the body, often in the form of a cyst or tumor: The mass they removed was alarmingly large, but the great news is that it was benign.

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.
affecting a number of people, but more than two and typically a large number: mass murder;a mass shooting.

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.

OTHER WORDS FOR mass

3 assemblage, heap, congeries.

5 collection, accumulation, pile, conglomeration.

6 magnitude, dimension.

8 majority.

11 proletariat, plebeians.

18 collect, marshal, amass, aggregate.

See synonyms for mass on Thesaurus.com

OPPOSITES FOR mass

18 disperse.

See antonyms for mass on Thesaurus.com

QUIZ

CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?

There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?

Question 1 of 7

Which sentence is correct?

His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of mass

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English masse, from Latin massa “mass,” from Greek mâza “barley cake,” akin to mássein “to knead”

synonym study for mass

6. See size¹.

OTHER WORDS FROM mass

mass·ed·ly

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

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH mass

massed , mast

Words nearby mass

mas. pil., Masqat, masque, masquer, masquerade, mass, massa, Massachuset, Massachusett, Massachusetts, Massachusetts ballot

Other definitions 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

Other definitions for mass (3 of 3)

Mass.

abbreviation

Massachusetts.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use mass in a sentence

The photo shows a large and dense mass of smoke all over the US' West Coast, all the way down from Oregon to Southern California.
West Coast wildfire smoke is visible from outer space|María Paula Rubiano A.|September 16, 2020|Popular-Science
Exceptional continental record of biotic recovery after the Cretaceous-Paleogene mass extinction.
Dawn of the Heliocene - Issue 90: Something Green|Summer Praetorius|September 16, 2020|Nautilus
The ambition of the Green Deal will not pan out without mass production.
Europe’s leaders want to create a ‘new Bauhaus’ as part of its Green Deal. But what does that even mean?|David Meyer|September 16, 2020|Fortune
Unlike many creatures, it survived the massive volcanic eruptions in what’s now Siberia that upset the chemistry of Earth’s atmosphere and oceans and probably triggered the Permian mass extinction about 252 million years ago.
Ancient Lystrosaurus tusks may show the oldest signs of a hibernation-like state|Susan Milius|September 16, 2020|Science News

Each of its knobby blooms bursts from the soil as a skirted mass of tiny same-sex nubbins.
‘Vampire’ parasite challenges the definition of a plant|Susan Milius|September 16, 2020|Science News For Students
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
Beyond the huge American flag that hung over the street, the mile-long mass of cops ended.
Funeral Protest Is Too Much for NYPD Union Boss|Michael Daly|January 5, 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
A colleague overheard two conservative Mass. lawmakers talking about what “the gays” could do.
The Real Story Behind the Fight for Marriage Equality|E.J. Graff|December 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Charred beams and blackened walls showed stark and gaunt in the glow of a smoldering mass of wreckage.
The Red Year|Louis Tracy
But hitherto, before these new ideas began to spread in our community, the mass of men and women definitely settled down.
The Salvaging Of Civilisation|H. G. (Herbert George) Wells
The Turks were no longer in mass but extended in several lines, less than a pace between each man.
Gallipoli Diary, Volume I|Ian Hamilton
Thus among the huge mass of accumulated commodities the simplest wants would go unsatisfied.
The Unsolved Riddle of Social Justice|Stephen Leacock
Edward Winslow died; one of the first settlers of Plymouth colony, Mass., and afterwards its governor.
The Every Day Book of History and Chronology|Joel Munsell

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 of mass

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

Scientific 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.

Cultural definitions for mass (1 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.)

Cultural 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.

notes for Mass

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

Cultural definitions for mass (3 of 3)

Mass

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

notes for Mass

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.

mass

OTHER WORDS FOR mass

OPPOSITES FOR mass

Origin of mass

synonym study for mass

OTHER WORDS FROM mass

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH mass

Words nearby mass

Other definitions for mass (2 of 3)

Origin of Mass

Other definitions for mass (3 of 3)

Words related to mass

How to use mass in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for mass (1 of 3)

Derived forms of mass

Word Origin for mass

British Dictionary definitions for mass (2 of 3)

Word Origin for Mass

British Dictionary definitions for mass (3 of 3)

Scientific definitions for mass

Cultural definitions for mass (1 of 3)

Cultural definitions for mass (2 of 3)

notes for Mass

Cultural definitions for mass (3 of 3)

notes for Mass