message
Americannoun
-
messages
plural
-
a communication containing some information, news, advice, request, or the like, sent by messenger, telephone, email, or other means.
-
an official communication, as from a chief executive to a legislative body.
the president's message to Congress.
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Digital Technology. a post or reply on an online message board.
-
the inspired utterance of a prophet or sage.
-
the point, moral, or meaning of a gesture, utterance, novel, motion picture, etc.
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Computers. a warning, permission, etc., communicated by the system or software to the user.
an error message;
a message to allow blocked content.
verb (used without object)
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messages,
present (3rd person singular)
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messaged,
past participle, past
-
messaging
present participle
verb (used with object)
-
messages,
present (3rd person singular)
-
messaged,
past participle, past
-
messaging
present participle
-
to send (a person) a message.
-
to send as a message.
idioms
noun
-
a communication, usually brief, from one person or group to another
-
an implicit meaning or moral, as in a work of art
-
a formal communiqué
-
an inspired communication of a prophet or religious leader
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a mission; errand
-
(plural) shopping
going for the messages
-
informal to understand what is meant
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
messagesimple
-
messagessimple
-
have messagedperfect
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has messagedperfect
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am messagingprogressive
-
are messagingprogressive
-
is messagingprogressive
-
have been messagingperfect progressive
-
has been messagingperfect progressive
Past
-
messagedsimple
-
had messagedperfect
-
was messagingprogressive
-
were messagingprogressive
-
had been messagingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of message
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English, from Old French, from Vulgar Latin missāticum (unrecorded), equivalent to Latin miss(us) “sent” (past participle of mittere “to send”) + -āticum -age
Explanation
A message is a communication or statement conveyed from one person or group to another. If you call my house phone and I’m out running an errand, you’ll be asked to “please leave a message after the beep.” Generally transmitted verbally or in writing, a message can also be sent via a look or a gesture. In today’s world, people tend to use email to send a short message. But in ye olden days, pre-internet and when the post was faster, people relied on the art of letter writing to send a message. The noun can also have a moral or pointed implication. For instance, the story's moral message was to always tell the truth.
Vocabulary lists containing message
TEKS ELAR Academic Vocabulary List (5th-7th grades)
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Common Core Grade 6, List 1
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Common Core Grade 5, List 1
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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:
Jerry Lin, head of the Taoyuan union, said the union has yet to set a strike date, but noted that a "surprise strike" could be called via text message to members.
From Barron's ● Oct. 7, 2026
Press conferences on consecutive days underline her message: “strong demand for more compute,” “AI is incredibly good for the world,” and “memory is overall supply-constrained.”
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 7, 2026
That message was conveyed to Newsom, the people familiar with the matter said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026
The online retailer has emailed customers apologising for the "unauthorised push notification" containing an external link, adding that they should disregard the message and not click on it.
From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026
If Grandpa were here, he’d match that look, send a silent message.
From "Will’s Race for Home" by Jewell Parker Rhodes
Text messages reviewed by the Journal show Guilfoyle reached out to people in Carlson’s orbit about setting up an interview with him for Deters.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026
Dalit, who survived with Achi and their three children by hiding in their own shelter for nearly 12 hours that day, recalls the last social media messages sent by Tamar to her neighbours.
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026
“It won’t show up anywhere if you wire money to American Express,” she wrote on Signal, according to messages reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026
You scroll back through last night's messages, certain you said something wrong.
From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026
Tiamat wheeled overhead, sending occasional messages of concern.
From "Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher" by Bruce Coville
She was inspired by a social-media post with research showing AI agents linked to OpenAI had secretly messaged each other using obscure German websites in May.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
While accepting the award for "Best Collaboration" after their performance, Madonna and Carpenter joked about how the material girl direct messaged via social media to get them into the studio for the collaboration.
From Barron's ● Sep. 28, 2026
He worked at a nearby university and had messaged me on LinkedIn saying he wanted to tell me about the campus and talk about teaching some night classes.
From Salon ● Sep. 23, 2026
He messaged the number from the ad three times before an officer overseeing the sting responded, the report said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026
He messaged me last night to see how Poe was doing, asking about his bronchitis.
From "Five Feet Apart" by Rachael Lippincott
Investigators say the victims were targeted by a group of men from Germany, New Zealand and the United States who communicated on the popular messaging platform Discord.
From Barron's ● Oct. 5, 2026
I commended Hilton for his cheery, aspirational messaging, which is what Latinos want to hear.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 3, 2026
Prior, Zuckerberg had embarked on an aggressive blitz himself, directly messaging candidates and inviting them to his homes in Palo Alto and Lake Tahoe.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
Low participation reflects not only personal barriers but a longstanding emphasis on aerobic activity in public health messaging.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 2, 2026
“And then you stopped messaging me altogether. Not that I can blame you, but it hurt that you gave up on me, because I felt like you of all people should have known. Should’ve asked.”
From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam
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.
