Adjacent Words

Mass definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

M`ASS, n. [L. massa, a mass; Gr. to beat or pound.]
1. A lump; a body of matter concreted, collected or formed into a lump; applied to any solid body; as a mass of iron or lead; a mass of flesh; as mass of ice; a mass of dough.
2. A collective body of fluid matter. The ocean is a mass of water.
3. A heap; as a mass of earth.
4. A great quantity collected; as a mass of treasure.
5. Bulk; magnitude.
This army of such mass and charge.
6. An assemblage; a collection of particulars blended, confused or indistinct; as a mass of colors.
They lose their forms, and make a mass
Confused and black, if brought too near.
7. Gross body of things considered collectively; the body; the bulk; as the mass of people in a nation. A small portion of morbid matter may infect the whole mass of fluids in the body.
M`ASS, n. [Low L. missa. The word signifies primarily leisure, cessation from labor, from the L. missus, remissus, like the L. ferioe; hence a feast or holiday.] The service of the Romish church; the office or prayers used at the celebration of the eucharist; the consecration of the bread and wine.
M`ASS, v.i. To celebrate mass. [Not used.]
M`ASS, v.t. To fill; to stuff; to strengthen. [Not used.]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: formed of separate units gathered into a mass or whole; "aggregate expenses include expenses of all divisions combined for the entire year"; "the aggregated amount of indebtedness" [syn: aggregate, aggregated, aggregative, mass] n
1: the property of a body that causes it to have weight in a gravitational field
2: (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"; "see the rest of the winners in our huge passel of photos"; "it must have cost plenty"; "a slew of journalists"; "a wad of money" [syn: batch, deal, flock, good deal, great deal, hatful, heap, lot, mass, mess, mickle, mint, mountain, muckle, passel, peck, pile, plenty, pot, quite a little, raft, sight, slew, spate, stack, tidy sum, wad]
3: an ill-structured collection of similar things (objects or people)
4: (Roman Catholic Church and Protestant Churches) the celebration of the Eucharist
5: a body of matter without definite shape; "a huge ice mass"
6: the common people generally; "separate the warriors from the mass"; "power to the people" [syn: multitude, masses, mass, hoi polloi, people, the great unwashed]
7: the property of something that is great in magnitude; "it is cheaper to buy it in bulk"; "he received a mass of correspondence"; "the volume of exports" [syn: bulk, mass, volume]
8: a musical setting for a Mass; "they played a Mass composed by Beethoven"
9: a sequence of prayers constituting the Christian Eucharistic rite; "the priest said Mass" v
1: join together into a mass or collect or form a mass; "Crowds were massing outside the palace"

Merriam Webster's

abbreviation Massachusetts

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle English, from Old English mæsse, modification of Vulgar Latin *messa, literally, dismissal at the end of a religious service, from Late Latin missa, from Latin, feminine of missus, past participle of mittere to send Date: before 12th century 1. capitalized the liturgy of the Eucharist especially in accordance with the traditional Latin rite 2. often capitalized a celebration of the Eucharist <Sunday masses held at three different hours> 3. a musical setting for the ordinary of the Mass II. noun Etymology: Middle English masse, from Anglo-French, from Latin massa, from Greek maza; akin to Greek massein to knead — more at mingle Date: 15th century 1. a. a quantity or aggregate of matter usually of considerable size b. (1) expanse, bulk (2) massive quality or effect <impressed me with such mass and such vividness — F. M. Ford> (3) the principal part or main body <the great mass of the continent is buried under an ice cap — Walter Sullivan> (4) aggregate, whole <men in the mass> c. the property of a body that is a measure of its inertia and that is commonly taken as a measure of the amount of material it contains and causes it to have weight in a gravitational field 2. a large quantity, amount, or number <a great mass of material> 3. a. a large body of persons in a compact group ; a body of persons regarded as an aggregate b. the great body of the people as contrasted with the elite — often used in plural <the underprivileged and disadvantaged masses — C. A. Buss> Synonyms: see bulk III. verb Date: 14th century transitive verb to form or collect into a mass intransitive verb to assemble in a mass <three thousand students had massed in the plaza — A. E. Neville> IV. adjective Date: 1733 1. a. of or relating to the mass of the people <mass market> <mass education>; also being one of or at one with the mass ; average, commonplace <mass man> b. participated in by or affecting a large number of individuals <mass destruction> <mass demonstrations> c. having a large-scale character <mass plantings of tulips> 2. viewed as a whole ; total <the mass effect of a design>

U.S. Military Dictionary

(*) 1. The concentration of combat power. 2. The military formation in which units are spaced at less than the normal distances and intervals.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

1. n., v., & adj. --n. 1 a coherent body of matter of indefinite shape. 2 a dense aggregation of objects (a mass of fibres). 3 (in sing. or pl.; foll. by of) a large number or amount. 4 (usu. foll. by of) an unbroken expanse (of colour etc.). 5 (foll. by of) covered or abounding in (was a mass of cuts and bruises). 6 a main portion (of a painting etc.) as perceived by the eye. 7 (prec. by the) a the majority. b (in pl.) the ordinary people. 8 Physics the quantity of matter a body contains. 9 (attrib.) relating to, done by, or affecting large numbers of people or things; large-scale (mass audience; mass action; mass murder). --v.tr. & intr. 1 assemble into a mass or as one body (massed bands). 2 Mil. (with ref. to troops) concentrate or be concentrated. Phrases and idioms: centre of mass a point representing the mean position of matter in a body or system. in the mass in the aggregate. law of mass action the principle that the rate of a chemical reaction is proportional to the masses of the reacting substances. mass defect the difference between the mass of an isotope and its mass number. mass energy a body's ability to do work according to its mass. mass media = MEDIA(1) 2. mass noun Gram. a noun that is not countable and cannot be used with the indefinite article or in the plural (e.g. bread). mass number the total number of protons and neutrons in a nucleus. mass observation Brit. the study and recording of the social habits and opinions of ordinary people. mass-produce produce by mass production. mass production the production of large quantities of a standardized article by a standardized mechanical process. mass spectrograph an apparatus separating isotopes, molecules, and molecular fragments according to mass by their passage in ionic form through electric and magnetic fields. mass spectrometer a device similar to a mass spectrograph but employing electrical detection. mass spectrum the distribution of ions shown by the use of a mass spectrograph or mass spectrometer. Derivatives: massless adj. Etymology: ME f. OF masse, masser f. L massa f. Gk maza barley-cake: perh. rel. to masso knead 2. n. (often Mass) 1 the Eucharist, esp. in the Roman Catholic Church. 2 a celebration of this. 3 the liturgy used in the mass. 4 a musical setting of parts of this. Phrases and idioms: high mass mass with incense, music, and usu. the assistance of a deacon and subdeacon. low mass mass with no music and a minimum of ceremony. Etymology: OE mæsse f. eccl.L missa f. L mittere miss- dismiss, perh. f. the concluding dismissal Ite, missa est Go, it is the dismissal

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Mass Mass, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Massed; p. pr. & vb. n. Massing.] To celebrate Mass. [Obs.] --Hooker.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Mass Mass, n. [OE. masse, F. masse, L. massa; akin to Gr. ? a barley cake, fr. ? to knead. Cf. Macerate.] 1. A quantity of matter cohering together so as to make one body, or an aggregation of particles or things which collectively make one body or quantity, usually of considerable size; as, a mass of ore, metal, sand, or water. If it were not for these principles, the bodies of the earth, planets, comets, sun, and all things in them, would grow cold and freeze, and become inactive masses. --Sir I. Newton. A deep mass of continual sea is slower stirred To rage. --Savile. 2. (Phar.) A medicinal substance made into a cohesive, homogeneous lump, of consistency suitable for making pills; as, blue mass. 3. A large quantity; a sum. All the mass of gold that comes into Spain. --Sir W. Raleigh. He had spent a huge mass of treasure. --Sir J. Davies. 4. Bulk; magnitude; body; size. This army of such mass and charge. --Shak. 5. The principal part; the main body. Night closed upon the pursuit, and aided the mass of the fugitives in their escape. --Jowett (Thucyd.). 6. (Physics) The quantity of matter which a body contains, irrespective of its bulk or volume. Note: Mass and weight are often used, in a general way, as interchangeable terms, since the weight of a body is proportional to its mass (under the same or equal gravitative forces), and the mass is usually ascertained from the weight. Yet the two ideas, mass and weight, are quite distinct. Mass is the quantity of matter in a body; weight is the comparative force with which it tends towards the center of the earth. A mass of sugar and a mass of lead are assumed to be equal when they show an equal weight by balancing each other in the scales. Blue mass. See under Blue. Mass center (Geom.), the center of gravity of a triangle. Mass copper, native copper in a large mass. Mass meeting, a large or general assembly of people, usually a meeting having some relation to politics. The masses, the great body of the people, as contrasted with the higher classes; the populace.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Mass Mass, n. [OE. masse, messe, AS. m[ae]sse. LL. missa, from L. mittere, missum, to send, dismiss: cf. F. messe. In the ancient churches, the public services at which the catechumens were permitted to be present were called missa catechumenorum, ending with the reading of the Gospel. Then they were dismissed with these words : ``Ite, missa est'' [sc. ecclesia], the congregation is dismissed. After that the sacrifice proper began. At its close the same words were said to those who remained. So the word gave the name of Mass to the sacrifice in the Catholic Church. See Missile, and cf. Christmas, Lammas, Mess a dish, Missal.] 1. (R. C. Ch.) The sacrifice in the sacrament of the Eucharist, or the consecration and oblation of the host. 2. (Mus.) The portions of the Mass usually set to music, considered as a musical composition; -- namely, the Kyrie, the Gloria, the Credo, the Sanctus, and the Agnus Dei, besides sometimes an Offertory and the Benedictus. Canon of the Mass. See Canon. High Mass, Mass with incense, music, the assistance of a deacon, subdeacon, etc. Low Mass, Mass which is said by the priest through-out, without music. Mass bell, the sanctus bell. See Sanctus. Mass book, the missal or Roman Catholic service book.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Mass Mass, v. t. To form or collect into a mass; to form into a collective body; to bring together into masses; to assemble. But mass them together and they are terrible indeed. --Coleridge.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(masses, massing, massed) Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English. 1. A mass of things is a large number of them grouped together. On his desk is a mass of books and papers. N-SING: N of n 2. A mass of something is a large amount of it. She had a mass of auburn hair. N-SING: N of n 3. Masses of something means a great deal of it. (INFORMAL) There's masses of work for her to do... It has masses of flowers each year. QUANT: QUANT of n-uncount/pl-n 4. Mass is used to describe something which involves or affects a very large number of people. ...ideas on combating mass unemployment... ...weapons of mass destruction. ADJ: ADJ n 5. A mass of a solid substance, a liquid, or a gas is an amount of it, especially a large amount which has no definite shape. ...before it cools and sets into a solid mass... The fourteenth century cathedral was reduced to a mass of rubble. N-COUNT: oft N of n 6. If you talk about the masses, you mean the ordinary people in society, in contrast to the leaders or the highly educated people. His music is commercial. It is aimed at the masses... N-PLURAL: the N 7. The mass of people are most of the people in a country, society, or group. The 1939-45 world war involved the mass of the population... = bulk, majority N-SING: the N of n 8. When people or things mass, or when you mass them, they gather together into a large crowd or group. Shortly after the workers went on strike, police began to mass at the shipyard... The General was massing his troops for a counterattack. = gather VERB: V, V n 9. If you say that something is a mass of things, you mean that it is covered with them or full of them. In the spring, the meadow is a mass of daffodils. N-SING: N of n 10. In physics, the mass of an object is the amount of physical matter that it has. (TECHNICAL) Astronomers know that Pluto and Triton have nearly the same size, mass, and density. N-VAR 11. Mass is a Christian church ceremony, especially in a Roman Catholic or Orthodox church, during which people eat bread and drink wine in order to remember the last meal of Jesus Christ. She attended a convent school and went to Mass each day. N-VAR 12. see also massed, critical mass, land mass

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. n. 1. Lump. 2. Heap, assemblage, combination, congeries. 3. Collective body of fluid matter. 4. Majority. 5. Size, magnitude, bulk, dimension. 6. Whole, aggregate, totality, body. II. n. Communion service (in the Roman Catholic Church), celebration of the Lord's Supper.

Moby Thesaurus

Agnus Dei, Alleluia, Anamnesis, Blessing, Canon, Collect, Communion, Consecration, Credo, Dismissal, Dry Mass, Epistle, Eucharistic rites, Fraction, Gloria, Gospel, Gradual, Introit, Kyrie, Kyrie Eleison, Lady Mass, Last Gospel, Lavabo, Low Mass, Missa, Missa bassa, Missa cantata, Missa legata, Missa media, Missa praesanctificatorum, Missa privata, Missa publica, Missa sicca, Offertory, Paternoster, Pax, Post-Communion, Preface, Requiem Mass, Rosary, Rosary Mass, Sanctus, Secreta, Tersanctus, Tract, bedtime prayer, camp meeting, church, church service, compline, devotions, dirge, divine service, duty, evening devotions, evensong, exercises, lauds, liturgy, matins, meeting, morning devotions, night song, none, nones, novena, office, praise meeting, prayer, prayer meeting, prayers, prime, prime song, public worship, requiem, revival, revival meeting, service, sext, tent meeting, the Divine Liturgy, the Liturgy, tierce, undersong, vesper, vespers, vigils, watch meeting, watch night, watch-night service

Moby Thesaurus

G, G suit, Negro spiritual, a mass of, a world of, abundance, accouple, accumulate, accumulation, acervation, acres, adhere, agglomerate, agglomeration, agglutinate, aggregate, aggregation, aggroup, amass, amassment, amount, amplitude, anthem, apogeotropism, area, army, articulate, assemblage, assemble, associate, assortment, backlog, bag, bags, band, bank, barrel, barrels, batch, best part, better part, bevy, bigness, block, bodily size, body, bond, bottle, box, bracket, breadth, breccia, bridge, bridge over, bring together, budget, bulk, bunch, bunch together, bunch up, bundle, burden, bushel, cake, caliber, can, canaille, cantata, canticle, carat, cement, centigram, chain, chorale, chunk, church music, clap together, clasp, cleave, clinch, cling, cling to, clod, clot, cloud, clump, cluster, clutter, coagulate, coarseness, cohere, cohue, collect, collection, colligate, collocate, combine, come together, commissariat, commissary, compare, compile, comprise, concatenate, concrete, concreteness, concretion, congeal, congeries, conglobation, conglobulate, conglomerate, conglomeration, congregate, conjoin, conjugate, connect, convene, converge, copiousness, copulate, core, cornucopia, corpulence, corpus, corral, countlessness, couple, cover, coverage, covey, crate, crowd, crush, cumulate, cumulation, date, decagram, decigram, deluge, density, depth, diameter, dig up, dimension, dimensions, distance through, doxology, dram, dram avoirdupois, draw together, dredge up, dregs, drive together, dump, durability, dyne, embrace, encompass, enormousness, essence, expanse, expansion, extension, extent, fatness, fill, firmness, flight, flock, flock together, flocks, flood, flow together, force, forgather, freeze to, freight, fuse, galaxy, gang around, gang up, gather, gather around, gather in, gather together, gathering, gauge, generality, geotropism, get in, get together, girth, gist, glomeration, glue, gob, gospel, gospel music, grain, gram, grasp, gravamen, gravitation, graviton, gravity, great deal, greatness, grossness, group, grow together, hail, hang on, hang together, heap, heap up, height, herd together, herds, hill, hive, hoard, hoi polloi, hold, hold on, hold together, horde, host, huddle, hug, hundredweight, hunk, hymn, hymn-tune, hymnody, hymnology, immensity, include, introit, inventory, jam, join, juxtapose, kilo, kilogram, knot, lade, larder, large amount, largeness, lay together, league, legion, legions, length, link, load, loads, loaf, lot, lots, lump, lump together, magnitude, main body, major part, majority, many, marry, marshal, masses of, massiveness, match, material, materiality, materials, materiel, matter, measure, measurement, meat, meet, megaton, merge, mess, mill, milligram, miscellany, mob, mobilize, mole, more than half, most, motet, mound, mountain, much, muchness, multitude, munitions, muster, nest, node, nugget, numbers, numerousness, object, ocean, oceans, offertory, offertory sentence, oodles, oratorio, ounce, ounce avoirdupois, ounce troy, pack, pack away, paean, pair, palpability, panoply, partner, passion, pat, peck, pennyweight, persist, piece together, pile, pile up, piles, plenitude, plenty, plurality, pocket, ponderability, pound, pound avoirdupois, pound troy, poundal, preponderance, preponderancy, press, profusion, proletariat, proportion, proportions, prosodion, provisionment, provisions, psalm, psalmody, put together, pyramid, quantities, quantity, quantum, quite a few, rabble, radius, ragtag and bobtail, raise, rake up, rally, rally around, range, rations, reach, recessional, rendezvous, repertoire, repertory, requiem, requiem mass, rick, riffraff, roll into one, round up, rout, ruck, sack, sacred music, scads, scale, scope, scores, scrape together, scruple, scum, sea, seethe, set, ship, shoal, shock, size, slews, slug, snowball, solder, solid, solid body, solidify, solidity, soundness, span, spate, specific gravity, spiritual, splice, spread, stability, stack, staple, stay, stay put, steadiness, stick, stick together, stock, stock-in-trade, stockpile, stone, store, stores, stoutness, stow, stream, strength, sturdiness, substance, substantiality, substantialness, sum, superabundance, superfluity, supplies, supply on hand, surge, swarm, swarms, take hold of, take in, take up, tangibility, tape, the common herd, the greatest number, the masses, the third dimension, thickness, throng, thrust, tidy sum, tie, ton, tons, toughness, trash, treasure, treasury, unify, unite, units of weight, unwashed, volume, wad, weight, weld, whip in, white spiritual, whole, width, world, worlds, worlds of, yoke