Link Centre Dictionary

mess

UK/mɛs/ US/ˈmɛs/ very common us
noun (6) verb (2)

noun

1.

a state of confusion and disorderliness

  • “the house was a mess”
  • “she smoothed the mussiness of the bed”
Synonyms
2.

informal terms for a difficult situation

  • “he got into a terrible fix”
  • “he made a muddle of his marriage”
Synonyms
3.

soft semiliquid food

  • “a mess of porridge”
4.
5.
6.

(often followed by `of'') a large number or amount or extent

  • “a batch of letters”
  • “a deal of trouble”
  • “a lot of money”
  • “he made a mint on the stock market”
  • “it must have cost plenty”
Synonyms

verb

1.

eat in a mess hall

2.

make a mess of or create disorder in

  • “He messed up his room”
Synonyms

Origin

From Middle English mes, partly from Old English mēse, mēose (“table”), a vernacular loan from Latin/Late Latin mē(n)sa (“table; meal”); and partly from Old French mes, Late Latin missum, from mittō (“to put, place (e.g. on the table)”). See mission, and compare Mass (“religious service”).

Phrases

  • don't mess with success terms derived from "mess" (etymology 1)
  • Eton mess
  • hot mess terms derived from "mess" (etymology 1)
  • in a mess terms derived from "mess" (etymology 1)
  • lose the number of one's mess
  • mess about terms derived from "mess" (etymology 1)
  • mess around terms derived from "mess" (etymology 1)
  • mess bag
  • mess beef
  • mess cup
  • mess dress
  • mess hall

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Narrower terms

Part of

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.