amassed; amassing; amasses

transitive verb

1
: to collect for oneself : accumulate
amass a great fortune
2
: to collect into a mass : gather
must select rather than simply amass details

intransitive verb

: to come together : assemble
Dark clouds amassed over the city.
amasser noun
amassment noun

Examples of amass in a Sentence

They've amassed a wealth of information. amassed a truckload of donations in the course of their canned food drive
Recent Examples on the Web Arkansas amassed a season-high 510 total yards and held the big-play Panthers to 341. Tom Murphy, arkansasonline.com, 19 Nov. 2023 Seventy-six of those posts amassed a collective 141 million views in 24 hours after an explosion at the al-Ahli hospital in Gaza City on Oct. 17. Joseph Menn, Washington Post, 19 Nov. 2023 The other contemporary works perform similar functions, delving into the trade routes of Chinese porcelain and the wealth amassed through enslaved labor and loss of life. Anne Wallentine, Smithsonian Magazine, 16 Nov. 2023 In 50 years a kilogram of plutonium will amass around 0.2 liter of helium. Sarah Scoles, Scientific American, 14 Nov. 2023 The latest results, amassed over the past four years, are now painting a picture of our home as a unique place, at a unique time. WIRED, 12 Nov. 2023 American also spent $30 billion in the same period replacing its aging roster of jets, adding over 300 of the narrow body Boeing 737-800 Max, a gambit that amassed the youngest fleet among the big four. Shawn Tully, Fortune, 11 Nov. 2023 Furtado, 44, amassed 10 Juno Awards from 2001 to 2007. Paul Grein, Billboard, 7 Nov. 2023 Francis' eldest son Gian-Carlo died in 1986 at age 22 but had already amassed some film credits — Gian-Carlo's daughter Gia has also become a filmmaker. Julie Tremaine, Peoplemag, 3 Nov. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'amass.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Anglo-French amasser, from a- (from Latin ad-) + masser to gather into a mass, from masse mass

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of amass was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near amass

Cite this Entry

“Amass.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/amass. Accessed 30 Nov. 2023.

Kids Definition

amass

verb
: to collect into a mass : accumulate
amasser noun

More from Merriam-Webster on amass

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