massage
Americannoun
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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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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
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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
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massagedsimple
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had massagedperfect
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was massagingprogressive
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were massagingprogressive
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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:
Netball flourished alongside hockey, tennis, cricket, cycling, swimming and dancing, while students were taught anatomy, physiology and hygiene, theory of movement, massage and medicine gymnastics.
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026
According to one of the 7-year-old friends in “A Sad and Beautiful World,” the process goes like this: “Mom drinks wine, he gives her a nice massage, and that’s how it’s done!”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
But after my massage, I felt light and pliable, if also tired and sore.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
He had to see his service game through before he could receive treatment and, after holding to love, grimaced through a massage before returning to play.
From BBC ● Jul. 7, 2026
“And flying back in the evening from Stoke Poges. And then a hot bath and vibro-vacuum massage . . . But there.”
From "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley
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 have watched videos of people doing cold plunges, giving themselves ear massages and contorting themselves into impossible stretches all in the name of fixing dysregulation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 19, 2026
This year, attendees can sign up for free massages, red light therapy sessions, lymphatic drainage boots, and—thanks in part to a partnership with LEGO—partake in a series of analog “adult play” installations.
From Slate ● May 8, 2026
The Woodhouse Spa offers everything from massages to facials and body treatments in a comfortable, low-key space.
From Salon ● Mar. 31, 2026
She crosses her legs as the haint boy massages her feet.
From "The Manifestor Prophecy" by Angie Thomas
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
It was clear during the restart of his match that Shelton was not able to produce his usual high-powered serves — even before his left shoulder was massaged by a trainer.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 1, 2024
Another study reported that orangutans on Borneo massaged themselves with Dracaena cantleyi, a plant with anti-inflammatory properties used by Indigenous people to treat sore muscles, joint pain, and swelling.
From Science Magazine ● May 1, 2024
Tica massaged her back, which was clearly paining her.
From "The Ugly One" by Leanne Statland Ellis
"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
While Cyndee is massaging her sore feet on a bench, Bert strikes up a casual conversation with a young woman the next bench over.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 19, 2025
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
The republic’s consuls and other officers became Augustus’ lapdogs, but he preserved their venerable offices and titles “with anxious care,” seeming to consult them and massaging their vanity.
From Salon ● Feb. 17, 2025
Rupert got up and went back to his desk massaging his scalp with both hands.
From "Matilda" by Roald Dahl
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.
