messier; messiest
1
: marked by confusion, disorder, or dirt : untidy
a messy room
3
: extremely unpleasant or trying
messy lawsuits
a messy divorce
Examples of messy in a Sentence
Painting a room can be messy work.
Some kinds of glue are messier than others.
a delicious but messy sandwich
Recent Examples on the Web
That’s a no-no in hockey, the type of act that can turn things messy.
—
Aaron Portzline, New York Times, 19 Oct. 2025
Tallying the number of Americans detained by immigration agents is inherently messy and incomplete.
—Nicole Foy, ProPublica, 18 Oct. 2025
If a mess does happen, clean up spills or messy bakes early so that grime and grease don’t build up.
—Daley Quinn, Southern Living, 18 Oct. 2025
The announcement on Friday evening draws a line once and for all, without having to go through the messy machinations of a parliamentary intervention, which would have been required to remove the dukedom.
—Sophie Tanno, CNN Money, 18 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for messy
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Aaron Portzline, New York Times, 19 Oct. 2025
Tallying the number of Americans detained by immigration agents is inherently messy and incomplete.
—Nicole Foy, ProPublica, 18 Oct. 2025
If a mess does happen, clean up spills or messy bakes early so that grime and grease don’t build up.
—Daley Quinn, Southern Living, 18 Oct. 2025
The announcement on Friday evening draws a line once and for all, without having to go through the messy machinations of a parliamentary intervention, which would have been required to remove the dukedom.
—Sophie Tanno, CNN Money, 18 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for messy
Cite this Entry
“Messy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/messy. Accessed 20 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
messy
adjective
messier; messiest
1
: marked by confusion, disorder, or dirt : untidy
2
: extremely unpleasant or trying
messy lawsuits
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