First recorded in 1570–80 as mas; marse was first recorded in 1765–75; shortening and alteration of master ( def. )
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The two thalami touch in the center in most brains as the massa intermedia, which is surrounded by the third ventricle.
From Textbooks ● Jun. 19, 2013
And the old massa who lives there fits the movie title too: Nikita Khrushchev, still hale at 70 but "retired" to his rent-free government dacha outside Moscow on a pension of $330 a month.
From Time Magazine Archive
“My massa thought so, ma’am,” she said quietly.
From "Copper Sun" by Sharon M. Draper
Him tell Batukuno Inglesa massa good white man, brudder Tanalay, oh yes!
From Samba A Story of the Rubber Slaves of the Congo by Strang, Herbert
"Lookin' arter massa Flint?" asked the boy, as soon as he had discovered that he was among friends.
From Fire Cloud The Mysterious Cave. A Story of Indians and Pirates. by Fletcher, Samuel H.
“To be a just war it must be a defense against another who actively wages war, which is what the Holy Father actually said,” Massa said in a statement following Vance’s comments.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 26, 2026
Verstappen was flirting with the most stunning comeback since Lewis Hamilton reeled in Felipe Massa in 2008, and the McLarens clearly understood that it could have been prevented.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 1, 2025
Massa believes that if F1 chiefs had investigated the incident sooner and the result had been annulled, he would have been crowned world champion.
From BBC ● Nov. 20, 2025
Another inspires a short rhapsody detailing the six-figure worth of a Richard Mille Felipe Massa automatic chronograph with a rose gold skeleton and a flyback function.
From Salon ● Apr. 11, 2025
“Not only Seth! Before you came, another boy died. A snake bit him right here on the island! That’s why Massa got you.”
From "Flying Through Water" by Mamle Wolo
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
