masses

British  

/ ˈmæsɪz /

plural noun

1. the body of common people

2. informal (often foll by of) great numbers or quantities

   masses of food

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Explanation

The masses refers to a large, general group of regular folks — the common people of a society. If you’re super rich, you ride around in a private jet while the masses take crowded buses. The masses don’t include celebrities, rich people, royalty, or political leaders. The masses are everybody else. People use this term when they need to speak generally about the majority, although it often refers to the lower class. To win an election, a politician must appeal to the masses. Popular movies and music also must appeal to the masses — in other words, they need mass appeal. The word masses is also just plural for any kind of mass.

Example Sentences

The masses used in experiments are roughly 500 billion trillion times smaller than Earth, making the gravitational pull between them extremely difficult to detect accurately.

From Science Daily • May 18, 2026

He had also brought his bike, which seemed to be the best way to elude the masses.

From Los Angeles Times • May 18, 2026

Four larger cylinders sat on a rotating carousel, while four smaller masses were suspended inside on a copper-beryllium ribbon about as thick as a human hair.

From Science Daily • May 18, 2026

The AI giant rattled users of secondary-share platforms, which bring investing in hot private companies to the masses.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 15, 2026

But Sullivan laced his 1924 autobiography with hyperbolic attacks on Burnham and the fair’s impact on the masses who came through its gates.

From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson