Webster's English Dictionary

Enter the word to look up:

mass

Cross references:
  1. bulk                  
 
1. mass \'mas\ n [ME, fr. OE msse, modif. of (assumed) VL messa, lit., 
   dism]issal at the end of a religious service, fr. LL missa, fr. L, fem. of 
   missus, pp. of mittere to send - more at SMITE cap  1: a sequence of 
   prayers and ceremonies forming the eucharistic office esp.  of the Latin 
   rite often cap  2: a celebration of the Eucharist  3: a musical setting for 
   the ordinary of the mass 
2. mass n [ME masse, fr. MF, fr. L massa, fr. Gk maza; akin to Gk ma]ssein 
   to knead - more at MINGLE 1a: a quantity or aggregate of matter usu. of 
   considerable size  1b1: EXPANSE, BULK  1b2: MASSIVENESS  1b3: the principal 
   part or main body  1b4: AGGREGATE, WHOLE {men in the ~}  1c: the property 
   of a body that is a measure of its inertia, that is common ly taken as a 
   measure of the amount of material it contains, that causes a body to have 
   weight in a gravitational field, and that along with length and time 
   constitutes one of the fundamental quantities on which all physical 
   measurements are based 2: a large quantity, amount, or number {a great ~ of 
   material}  3a: a large body of persons in a compact group : a body of 
   persons regard ed as an aggregate 3b: the body of people as contrasted with 
   the elite - usu. used in pl. 
3. mass vb : to form or collect into a mass 
4. mass aj 1a: of or relating to the mass of the people {~ market ~ edu 
   cation} 1b: participated in by or affecting a large number of individuals 
   {~)R destruction ~ demonstrations} 1c: LARGE-SCALE, WHOLESALE {~ 
   production}  2: viewed as a whole : TOTAL