mass

¹mass

noun \ˈmas\

Definition of MASS

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

Origin of MASS

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

First Known Use: before 12th century

Rhymes with MASS

ass, bass, brass, class, crass, frass, gas, glass, grass, lass, pass, sass, strass, tasse, vas, wrasse

²mass

noun

Definition of MASS

1

a : a quantity or aggregate of matter usually of considerable size

b (1) : expanse, bulk (2) : massive quality or effect (3) : the main part or 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 mass of material>

3

a : a large body of persons in a group <a mass of spectators>

b : the great body of the people as contrasted with the elite —often used in plural <the underprivileged and disadvantaged masses — C. A. Buss>

Origin of MASS

Middle English masse, from Anglo-French, from Latin massa, from Greek maza; akin to Greek massein to knead — more at mingle

First Known Use: 15th century

Other Physics Terms

amplitude, centrifugal, centripetal, convection, gradient, hysteresis, kinetic, lase, quantum

³mass

verb

Definition of MASS

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>

Examples of MASS

1. A large crowd of demonstrators massed outside the courthouse.
2. Clouds were massing on the horizon.
3. The generals massed their troops.

First Known Use of MASS

14th century

Related to MASS

Synonyms

accrete, accumulate, amass, build up, concentrate, conglomerate, gather, collect, pile (up), stack (up)

Related Words

agglutinate, clump, lump; bank, drift, ridge

Near Antonyms

disperse, dissipate, scatter

⁴mass

adjective

Definition of MASS

1

a : of or relating to the mass of the people <mass market>; also : being one of or at one with the mass : average <mass man>

b : participated in by or affecting a large number of individuals <mass destruction>

c : having a large-scale character <mass plantings of tulips>

2

: viewed as a whole : total <the mass effect of a design>

Examples of MASS

1. Television is a mass medium.

First Known Use of MASS

1733

Mass

abbreviation

Definition of MASS

Massachusetts

mass

noun \ˈmas\   (Medical Dictionary)

Medical Definition of MASS

1

: the property of a body that is a measure of its inertia, that is commonly taken as a measure of the amount of material it contains, that causes it 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 homogeneous pasty mixture compounded for making pills, lozenges, and plasters <blue mass>