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
every officer with a unit … is obliged to belong to a mess—
S. G. Maurice
S. G. Maurice
also
: a meal so taken
b
: a place where meals are regularly served to a group : mess hall
The soldiers marched to the mess for breakfast.
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
Judith Crist4
: a large quantity or number
They're in a mess of trouble.
messed; messing; messes
1
: to provide with meals at a mess
2
a
: to make dirty or untidy : disarrange
—often used with up
don't mess up your room
b
: to mix up : bungle
—often used with up
really messed up my life
3
: to interfere with
—often used with up
magnetic storms that mess up communications—Time
Time4
: to rough up : manhandle
—often used with up
mess him up good so he won't cheat us again
1
: to take meals with a mess
2
: to make a mess
3
b
: to handle or play with something especially carelessly
don't mess with my camera
—often used with around
4
: to become confused or make an error
—usually used with up
Examples of mess in a Sentence
Noun
He was a mess after gardening all day.
My hair is a mess.
Well, that's another fine mess you've gotten me into!
How do we get ourselves into these messes?
The school system is a mess.
Things were a real mess for a while after she retired.
My life is a complete mess.
She was a real mess for a while after her divorce.
He was a mess during his daughter's wedding ceremony.
Verb
please don't mess with me while I'm trying to concentrate
Recent Examples on the Web
Chris Kenning, USA Today, 25 Oct. 2025
Geared towards lighter messes, steam cleaning your oven can take a bit of work, but the results are well worth it.
—Daley Quinn, Southern Living, 25 Oct. 2025
Giana Levy, Variety, 31 Oct. 2025
If your smartwatch tracking every heartbeat and sleep cycle hasn’t already given you health anxiety, Kohler wants to mess you up in a new way.
—Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 20 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for mess
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Noun
And its cemeteries had grown into an overcrowded mess.
—Chris Kenning, USA Today, 25 Oct. 2025
Geared towards lighter messes, steam cleaning your oven can take a bit of work, but the results are well worth it.
—Daley Quinn, Southern Living, 25 Oct. 2025
Verb
Somebody does something terrible and messes it up.
—Giana Levy, Variety, 31 Oct. 2025
If your smartwatch tracking every heartbeat and sleep cycle hasn’t already given you health anxiety, Kohler wants to mess you up in a new way.
—Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 20 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for mess
Video
Hot Mess
Our research turned up two archaic literal meanings
Cite this Entry
“Mess.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mess. Accessed 4 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
mess
1 of 2 noun1
a
: a quantity of food
b
: a dish of soft food
a mess of porridge
2
a
: a group of people who regularly eat together
also
: the meal they eat
b
: a place where meals are regularly served to a group : mess hall
3
: a state or condition of confusion, disorder, or unpleasantness
left things in a mess
also
: one that is in such a state or condition
his life was a mess
4
: a large quantity or number
a mess of problems
mess
2 of 2 verb1
a
: to supply with meals
b
: to take meals with a mess
2
a
: to make dirty or untidy : disarrange
don't mess up your room
b
: to do incorrectly
messed up the job
c
: to become confused or make an error
tried again and messed up again
3
: to interfere with
the storm messed up our plans
4
a
: to work without a serious goal : putter
likes to mess around with paints
b
: to handle or play with something especially carelessly
don't mess with the camera
c
: interfere sense 2, meddle
don't mess with me
5
: to rough up : manhandle
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