mess
Americannoun
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a dirty, untidy, or disordered condition.
The room was in a mess.
- Antonyms:
- order
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a person or thing that is dirty, untidy, or disordered.
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a state of embarrassing confusion.
My affairs are in a mess.
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an unpleasant or difficult situation.
She got into a mess driving without a license.
- Synonyms:
- pickle, plight, predicament
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a dirty or untidy mass, litter, or jumble.
a mess of papers.
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a group regularly taking their meals together.
-
the meal so taken.
-
Naval. messroom.
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a quantity of food sufficient for a dish or a single occasion.
to pick a mess of sweet corn for dinner.
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a sloppy or unappetizing preparation of food.
-
a dish or quantity of soft or liquid food.
to cook up a nice mess of pottage.
-
a person whose life or affairs are in a state of confusion, especially a person with a confused or disorganized moral or psychological outlook.
verb (used with object)
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to make dirty or untidy (often followed byup ).
Don't mess the room.
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to make a mess or muddle of (affairs, responsibilities, etc.) (often followed byup ).
They messed the deal.
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to supply with meals, as military personnel.
-
to treat roughly; beat up (usually followed byup ).
The gang messed him up.
verb (used without object)
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to eat in company, especially as a member of a mess.
-
to make a dirty or untidy mess.
verb phrase
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mess up
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mess around / about
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Informal. to busy oneself without purpose or plan; work aimlessly or halfheartedly; putter.
-
Informal. to waste time; loaf.
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Informal. to meddle or interfere.
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Informal. to involve or associate oneself, especially for immoral or unethical purposes.
His wife accused him of messing around with gamblers.
-
Slang. to trifle sexually; philander.
-
-
mess in / with to intervene officiously; meddle.
You'll get no thanks for messing in the affairs of others.
noun
-
a state of confusion or untidiness, esp if dirty or unpleasant
the house was in a mess
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a chaotic or troublesome state of affairs; muddle
his life was a mess
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informal a dirty or untidy person or thing
-
archaic a portion of food, esp soft or semiliquid food
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a place where service personnel eat or take recreation
an officers' mess
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a group of people, usually servicemen, who eat together
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the meal so taken
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a material gain involving the sacrifice of a higher value
verb
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to muddle or dirty
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(intr) to make a mess
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to interfere; meddle
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(intr; often foll by with or together) military to group together, esp for eating
Etymology
Origin of mess
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English mes, from Old French: “course at a meal,” from Late Latin missus “(something) sent” (i.e., put on the table), noun use of past participle of Latin mittere “to send”
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.
In a lengthy dissent, Kavanaugh said the government would be forced to refund billions in tariff revenue and said the process would be a "mess."
From BBC
"I tried to make a mess of a pretty basic chip there on 18," Scheffler said.
From Barron's
“As was acknowledged at oral argument, the refund process is likely to be a ‘mess,’” Kavanaugh wrote.
From MarketWatch
While the justices left this thorny issue to be decided by a lower court, Brett Kavanaugh in his dissent warned that the process is likely to be a "mess".
From BBC
Kavanaugh, in his dissent, said refunding tariffs already collected could be a “mess” with “significant consequences for the U.S. Treasury.”
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.
