mesh

American  

[mesh] / mɛʃ /

noun

• meshes
  plural

1. any knit, woven, or knotted fabric of open texture.

2. an interwoven or intertwined structure; network.

   Synonyms:

   grid, screen, grill, netting, web

3. any arrangement of interlocking metal links or wires with evenly spaced, uniform small openings between, as used in jewelry or sieves.

4. one of the open spaces between the cords or ropes of a net.

5. meshes,

   1. the threads that bind such spaces.

   2. the means of catching or holding fast.

      to be caught in the meshes of the law.

6. Machinery. the engagement of gear teeth.

7. Electricity. a set of branches that forms a closed path in a network so that removal of a branch results in an open path.

8. Metallurgy. a designation of a given fineness of powder used in powder metallurgy in terms of the number of the finest screen through which almost all the particles will pass.

   This powder is 200 mesh.

---

verb (used with object)

• meshes,
  present (3rd person singular)
• meshed,
  past participle,  past
• meshing
  present participle

1. to catch or entangle in or as if in a net; enmesh.

2. to form with meshes, as a net.

3. Machinery. to engage, as gear teeth.

4. to cause to match, coordinate, or interlock.

   They tried to mesh their vacation plans.

verb (used without object)

• meshes,
  present (3rd person singular)
• meshed,
  past participle,  past
• meshing
  present participle

1. to become enmeshed.

2. Machinery. to become or be engaged, as the teeth of one gear with those of another.

3. to match, coordinate, or interlock.

   The two versions of the story don't mesh.

mesh British  

/ mɛʃ /

noun

1. a network; net

2. an open space between the strands of a network

3. (often plural) the strands surrounding these spaces

4. anything that ensnares, or holds like a net

   the mesh of the secret police

5. the engagement of teeth on interacting gearwheels

   the gears are in mesh

6. a measure of spacing of the strands of a mesh or grid, expressed as the distance between strands for coarse meshes or a number of strands per unit length for fine meshes

---

verb

1. to entangle or become entangled

2. (of gear teeth) to engage or cause to engage

3. to coordinate (with)

   to mesh with a policy

4. to work or cause to work in harmony

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• mismesh
  verb
• unmesh
  verb (used with object)
• intermesh
  verb (used without object)
• meshy
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• meshes
  plural

Participles

• meshing
  present
• meshed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• mesh
  simple
• meshes
  simple
• have meshed
  perfect
• has meshed
  perfect
• am meshing
  progressive
• are meshing
  progressive
• is meshing
  progressive
• have been meshing
  perfect progressive
• has been meshing
  perfect progressive

Past

• meshed
  simple
• had meshed
  perfect
• was meshing
  progressive
• were meshing
  progressive
• had been meshing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will mesh
  simple
• will have meshed
  perfect
• will be meshing
  progressive
• will have been meshing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of mesh

1375–1425; late Middle English mesch, apparently continuing Old English masc, max; akin to Old High German māsca, Middle Dutch maesche

Explanation

Use the word mesh for fabric made of loosely woven fibers. A butterfly net is made of mesh, and so is a window screen. Some mesh is made from string or fabric, like a fishing net or a mesh sports jersey, while other mesh is metal or plastic, like a tea strainer. In either case, it's woven loosely enough that there are small holes throughout its surface. Another meaning of mesh is "harmonize" or "work well together." In the fourteenth century, it was spelled mesche, and it meant "open space in a net," from the Old English word for net, max.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

mesh meshes meshed meshing

Scattered along the walls of the studio were tidy heaps of scarves and mesh, rainbows of stripes, every shade of ballet pink, Uggs of every height.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026

Donna, 56, now requires her large bowel to be removed because of her vaginal mesh medical device, which was removed after she felt it cutting into her.

From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026

Satellites with advanced sensors will sweep through airspace to pick up information that traditional airborne radars can’t read, then beam the data through a laser-linked orbital mesh network directly to meet warfighter needs.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 24, 2026

Working from a converted 19th century Dutch locomotive-assembly hall, he and colleagues are trying to mesh this century’s technology with military thinking from the last one.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026

With her bee-free hand, Priscilla swept off the mesh face mask.

From "Bone Gap" by Laura Ruby

The Fed’s mission meshes more clearly with powers assigned by the Constitution to Congress than to the president.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026

While Moss said he was grateful to play at USC, he said he’s drawing from positives as he meshes with a new team and works with Louisville coach Jeff Brohm and his staff.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 26, 2025

The horrifying yet thought-provoking showcase, courtesy of directors Melissa Robledo and Robert Kenner, once again meshes science, data and emotions to illustrate how our industrialized food system has gotten worse nearly 15 years later.

From Salon ● Apr. 14, 2024

The thread of their on-again-off-again connection is never lost in the film’s pleasingly artisanal, jazz-scored futurescape, which meshes practical and digital effects under the sign of Douglas Adams as much as Adult Swim and anime.

From New York Times ● Feb. 8, 2024

Nigerians, Ugandans, Kenyans, Ghanaians, South Africans, Tanzanians, Zimbabweans, one Congolese, and one Guinean sat around eating, talking, fueling spirits, and their different accents formed meshes of solacing sounds.

From "Americanah" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

If Elvis is being meshed with cricket, there is a decent chance Andrew Flintoff has something to do with it.

From BBC ● Nov. 21, 2024

The mechanics of the plot itself don’t quite hold up under scrutiny, which is a shame when the dialogue, performances and filmmaking craft are so tightly meshed, moving in perfect sync.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 7, 2024

Craig and I just kind of meshed and became friends — he was educated, cerebral and smart.

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 1, 2024

Steve Jordan, who was Watts’s personal pick to take over, meshed well with the group’s live energy, though.

From New York Times ● Oct. 24, 2023

Many of the personalities of the men wouldn’t have meshed even under the best circumstances, let alone cooped up on a ship with nothing to do and nowhere to go.

From "Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World" by Jennifer Armstrong

Older workers could turn out to be more valuable than younger ones, he said, by meshing their experience with the tools of artificial intelligence.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 20, 2026

The company, however, is already thinking of that with laser meshing technology and wireless spectrum acquisitions.

From Barron's ● Jun. 7, 2026

Ben Hania’s last film was another bold meshing of the factual and the fictionalized, the hybridized Oscar-nominated documentary “Four Daughters,” in which a real Tunisian family processes personal tragedy through role-playing for the director’s camera.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 18, 2025

These things go in cycles and a 'Super Bowl window' is often mentioned as the perfect combination of established stars on manageable contracts combined with star draft picks all meshing at the right time.

From BBC ● Feb. 11, 2025

After removing each strip, Dr. Grossman passed it through a meshing device that perforated it with tiny holes so that it could be stretched to cover a larger area.

From "The 57 Bus" by Dashka Slater

Related Words

• coincide
• combine
• coordinate
• dovetail
• fit
• harmonize
• knit