message

noun mes·sage \ ˈme-sij \

|Updated on: 18 Jul 2018

Examples: message in a Sentence

Definition of message

1 : a communication in writing, in speech, or by signals

Please take this message for me to my friend.

2 : a messenger's mission

the girl will go on a message to the shop
—Cahir Healy

3 : an underlying theme or idea

the message is that it is time to change
—The Economist

See message defined for English-language learners

See message defined for kids

Examples of message in a Sentence

Did you get my message?
She has received messages of support from hundreds of people.
I left a message on her answering machine.
He's not here right now. Can I take a message?
I liked the story but I didn't really agree with the book's message.
He believed in the church's message of forgiveness.

Recent Examples of message from the Web

The message O’Connor sent with the benchings on Saturday night was, in essence, telling the players to stop deluding themselves into thinking the nine-match losing streak was some fluky happenstance of bad breaks, bad officiating and bad coaching.

— mike bianchi, Pro Soccer USA, "James O’Connor is finally forcing Orlando City’s players to look in the mirror," 14 July 2018
An email from then-Interior official Megan Bloomgren—who now works for the oil lobby group—to colleagues clarified the message that Zinke wanted to deliver.

— zack colman, Scientific American, "A Trump Oil Boom Could Transform This Rocky Mountain Landscape," 13 July 2018
The final message is that virtue and vice are entwined; unlike spaghetti Westerns, the play has no straightforward goodies or baddies.

— The Economist, "On stage, the saga of the Lehman brothers is a parable of America," 12 July 2018
The message was to support one another and be around like-minded people.

— perry a. farrell, Detroit Free Press, "Brandon Graham is toast of Philadelphia, believes Michigan can make CFP," 11 July 2018
Moses-Mason said the message for students is that school isn't scary.

— diane smith, star-telegram, "Move over police, these teachers have some moves of their own and they can sing," 11 July 2018
Your messages, comments, gifts, and mail are noticed and appreciated.

— michelle manetti, Good Housekeeping, "Here's Why Jeremy and Audrey Roloff Are Leaving 'Little People, Big World'," 10 July 2018
All Sponsor Content and marketing messages will be clearly and distinctly differentiated from independent news content.

— Bloomberg, "Terms of Service," 8 July 2018
The message Kokoskov has received from Cooley is also what the big man is trying to pass down to Phoenix’s No. 1 pick, Deandre Ayton.

— clevis murray, azcentral, "Suns summer-league center Jack Cooley shares his experience, hangs on to the dream," 7 July 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'message.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of message

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Medieval Latin missaticum, from Latin missus, past participle of mittere

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

message Synonyms

Synonyms

communication, dispatch;

Related Words

bulletin, communiqué, report;

memo, memorandum, notice;

epistle, letter, missive, note;

electronic mail, e-mail, voice mail;

intelligence, news, tidings, word;

command, directive, instruction, order;

message

verb

Definition of message

messaged; messaging

transitive verb

1 : to send as a message or by messenger

2 : to send a message to

intransitive verb

: to communicate by message

Recent Examples of message from the Web

The move will bolster the White House’s messaging operation ahead of what is shaping up to be a fierce partisan battle over Trump’s choice for a successor to retiring Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, set to be unveiled next Monday.

— washington post, BostonGlobe.com, "Former Fox executive Bill Shine joins White House as communications chief," 5 July 2018
To switch to a different default messaging app, download the new app first, then head over to Settings.

— michael simon, PCWorld, "Three ways to stop your Samsung Galaxy phone from randomly texting out your pics," 3 July 2018
Six days ago, one Reddit user noted that his entire photo gallery was sent to his girlfriend overnight from a Samsung S9+, but there was no record on his phone in Samsung’s messaging app.

— glenn fleishman, Fortune, "Some Samsung Phones Are Randomly Texting Photos to Contacts and It's Freaking People Out," 3 July 2018
Samsung Messages is the default messaging app on Samsung phones.

— hayley tsukayama, latimes.com, "Samsung's texting app apparently sent pictures to people's contacts without permission," 3 July 2018
Shah is taking a leave of absence from his post as as White House principal deputy press secretary to manage communications, strategy and messaging coordination with Trump’s Capitol Hill allies, Sanders said.

— neil vigdor, courant.com, "Connecticut's Justin Clark And Raj Shah Will Promote Trump Nominee For Supreme Court," 2 July 2018
During his interview with the university investigator, the student shared his Facebook messaging exchanges with the instructor, but did not provide physical copies.

— karen herzog, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Social media, texting are slippery slopes for sexual harassment on UW campuses," 6 June 2018
David Marcus, the executive in charge of Facebook’s standalone messaging app, Messenger, is leaving that post to run the blockchain group, these sources said.

— kurt wagner, Recode, "Facebook is making its biggest executive shuffle in company history," 8 May 2018
Thanks to the miracle of modern technology, messaging groups allow management and employees to keep in touch.

— The Economist, "Tortured by meetings," 28 June 2018

Origin and Etymology of message

see ¹message

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1582

in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

See Words from the same year

MESSAGE Defined for English Language Learners

message

noun

Definition of message for English Language Learners

: a piece of information that is sent or given to someone
: an important idea that someone is trying to express in a book, movie, speech, etc.

MESSAGE Defined for Kids

message

noun mes·sage \ ˈme-sij \

Definition of message for Students

1 : the exchange of information in writing, in speech, or by signals

2 : an underlying theme or idea

the book's message

Learn More about message

See words that rhyme with message Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for message Spanish Central: Translation of message Nglish: Translation of message for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of message for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about message

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Definition of message

Examples of message in a Sentence

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Synonyms

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message

Definition of message

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MESSAGE Defined for English Language Learners

message

Definition of message for English Language Learners

MESSAGE Defined for Kids

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