Main Entry: ¹mess

Pronunciation: \ˈmes\

Function: noun

Etymology: Middle English mes, from Anglo-French, from Late Latin missus course at a meal, from missus, past participle of mittere to put, from Latin, to send — more at smite

Date: 14th century

1 : a quantity of food: a archaic : food set on a table at one time b : a prepared dish of soft food; also : a mixture of ingredients cooked or eaten together c : enough food of a specified kind for a dish or a meal <picked a mess of peas for dinner>
2 a : a group of persons who regularly take their meals together; also : a meal so taken b : a place where meals are regularly served to a group : mess hall
3 a : a disordered, untidy, offensive, or unpleasant state or condition <your room is in a mess> b : one that is disordered, untidy, offensive, or unpleasant usually because of blundering, laxity, or misconduct <[the movie] is a mess, as sloppy in concept as it is in execution — Judith Crist>
4 : a large quantity or number