pell-mell

or pell·mell

[ pel-mel ]
See synonyms for pell-mell on Thesaurus.com
adverb
  1. in disorderly, headlong haste; in a recklessly hurried manner.

  2. in a confused or jumbled mass, crowd, manner, etc.: The crowd rushed pell-mell into the store when the doors opened.

adjective
  1. indiscriminate; disorderly; helter-skelter: a pell-mell dash after someone.

  2. overhasty or precipitate; rash: pell-mell spending.

noun
  1. a confused or jumbled mass, crowd, etc.

  2. disorderly, headlong haste.

Origin of pell-mell

1
First recorded in 1570–80; from Middle French pelemele, Old French pesle mesle, rhyming compound based on mesler “to mix”; see meddle

Words Nearby pell-mell

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use pell-mell in a sentence

  • Her first thought was of the rabbit, and she came running pell-mell across the garden to greet him.

    Bumper, The White Rabbit | George Ethelbert Walsh
  • Toby clapped both hands to his ears, and in a flash the red-headed girl seized Bumper in her arms and ran pell-mell from the room.

    Bumper, The White Rabbit | George Ethelbert Walsh

British Dictionary definitions for pell-mell

pell-mell

/ (ˈpɛlˈmɛl) /


adverb
  1. in a confused headlong rush: the hounds ran pell-mell into the yard

  2. in a disorderly manner: the things were piled pell-mell in the room

adjective
  1. disordered; tumultuous: a pell-mell rush for the exit

noun
  1. disorder; confusion

Origin of pell-mell

1
C16: from Old French pesle-mesle, jingle based on mesler to meddle

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for pell-mell

pell-mell

In a confused, disorderly manner: “After the assembly, the students ran pell-mell from the auditorium.”

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.