massage
Americannoun
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massages
plural
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the act or art of treating the body by rubbing, kneading, patting, or the like, to stimulate circulation, increase suppleness, relieve tension, etc.
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Slang. attentive or indulgent treatment; pampering.
ego massage.
verb (used with object)
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massages,
present (3rd person singular)
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massaged,
past participle, past
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massaging
present participle
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to treat by massage.
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Slang. to treat with special care and attention; coddle or pamper.
The store massages its regular customers with gifts and private sales.
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Informal.
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to manipulate, maneuver, or handle skillfully.
to massage a bill through the Senate.
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to manipulate, organize, or rearrange (data, figures, or the like) to produce a specific result, especially a favorable one.
The auditors discovered that the company had massaged the books.
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noun
verb
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to give a massage to
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to treat (stiffness, aches, etc) by a massage
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to manipulate (statistics, data, etc) so that they appear to support a particular interpretation or to be better than they are; doctor
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to boost someone's sense of self-esteem by flattery
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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massagesimple
-
massagessimple
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have massagedperfect
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has massagedperfect
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am massagingprogressive
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are massagingprogressive
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is massagingprogressive
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have been massagingperfect progressive
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has been massagingperfect progressive
Past
-
massagedsimple
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had massagedperfect
-
was massagingprogressive
-
were massagingprogressive
-
had been massagingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of massage
1875–80; < French, equivalent to mass ( er ) to massage (< Arabic massa to handle) + -age -age
Explanation
When someone rubs your muscles to help relax them, that's a massage. Feels good, doesn't it? When someone tells you how great you are to gain favor, they massage your ego. Not bad, either. The word massage has a mysterious background, possibly coming from the Arabic massa, meaning "to touch," finding its way to 19th Century France by way of Napoleon. Would you accept a foot massage from Napoleon? Or, it might have worked its way to France from India, where amassar carries the meaning "knead." The year 1913 saw the first massage parlor, which was really a brothel. Today massage is a recognized form of physical therapy and is, of course, practiced by amateurs too. A little to the left, please.
Vocabulary lists containing massage
Brown Girl Dreaming
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English Words Derived from French, List 5
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Towers Falling
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
But it could be due to the fact that massage reduces muscle stiffness, improves circulation and boosts relaxation.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 14, 2026
In addition, the home comes with a gym, steam shower, massage and salon rooms, a home theater, game room, and two private balconies.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 5, 2026
Abbey, who has endometriosis which she says causes her to feel bloated, began doing her own massage routines twice a week aer seeing social media posts about lymphatic drainage.
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026
And even the go-for-broke performance of Mr. Ribisi, with its barely contained insanity, requires something to massage our sympathies.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
She poured on some sweet-smelling stuff and started to massage it in.
From "Schooled" by Gordon Korman
He adds that these massages can be a "safe way" to relieve symptoms for conditions like lymphoedema but are not suitable for some people with pre-existing medical conditions.
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026
What you get: TSA with no lines and other amenities including massages and being chauffeured to your commercial plane.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026
Passengers can pay to get access to massages and manicures as well as chef-prepared meals while they wait to board.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026
The spa doesn’t offer foot massages, but there’s a 30-foot-long “jade stone walk,” with half-dome pebbles imported from Korea, on it.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026
I also started using acupuncture to treat old injuries and weekly massages and ice baths to help prevent new ones.
From "Proud" by Ibtihaj Muhammad
It features whole leaves of romaine lettuce massaged by hand with a dressing of fresh garlic, lime, Worcestershire, soft-poached eggs and Cantabrian anchovies.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 31, 2026
The filler is then massaged to give an even look, which the patient continues as home.
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026
Petty crimes dropped, as did homicides, according to official data, though some disputed the data as possibly massaged to benefit authorities.
From Barron's ● May 10, 2026
My go-tos are peppery arugula, baby spinach, bitter-but-beautiful radicchio, a good massaged kale or thin ribbons of collard greens.
From Salon ● Dec. 16, 2025
With his other hand he massaged the exquisitely arched instep of his left foot.
From "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy
Robots were everywhere, dancing in unison, making cappuccinos, shooting soccer goals, massaging visitors and playing the piano.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
Chen began by massaging my scalp for about 10 minutes, as I tried not to fall asleep.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 6, 2026
"This is the Zygopush," Marvin tells me, while pressing his thumbs directly under his cheekbones and massaging upwards towards his ears in an attempt to hollow out his cheeks.
From BBC ● Mar. 14, 2026
When you’re wringing billions of dollars in profits out of the sickly, you’ve got to put some money into massaging public opinion.
From Slate ● Mar. 3, 2025
Mama, Roberto, and I took turns massaging him with Vick’s Vaporub.
From "The Circuit: Stories from the Life of a Migrant Child" by Francisco Jiménez
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
