How to Use mess in a Sentence

mess

1 of 2 noun

• The school system is a mess.
• My hair is a mess.
• My life is a complete mess.
• She was a real mess for a while after her divorce.
• Things were a real mess for a while after she retired.
• He was a mess after gardening all day.
• How do we get ourselves into these messes?
• Well, that's another fine mess you've gotten me into!
• He was a mess during his daughter's wedding ceremony.
• How could the state fix this mess?
  — Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board, The Orlando Sentinel, 10 Mar. 2026
• That's kind of a mess right now.
  — Dominique Mosbergen, Time, 25 Sep. 2025
• His job is to clean up the mess.
  — Rob Picheta, CNN Money, 7 Feb. 2026
• Who went away and left them with a mess?
  — Ben Travers, IndieWire, 16 Apr. 2026
• The team’s a mess, her life’s a mess.
  — Joe Otterson, Variety, 8 Sep. 2025
• Can’t wait for more of this mess next week!
  — Emma Specter, Vogue, 27 May 2026
• There isn’t a way to claw out of this mess.
  — Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune, 17 Mar. 2026
• The Ukraine mess is still a mess.
  — Paul Bedard, The Washington Examiner, 23 Aug. 2025
• Ty Gibbs caught in the mess as well.
  — Alex Zietlow, Charlotte Observer, 15 Feb. 2026
• Then the poor folks who are left have to clean up their mess.
  — Megan Cartwright, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Oct. 2025
• The gas station area is a mess.
  — Joe Kinsey Outkick, FOXNews.com, 13 May 2026
• The left side is something of a mess.
  — Josh Yohe, New York Times, 29 Sep. 2025
• Harbaugh was hired to clean up a mess.
  — Pat Leonard, New York Daily News, 27 Feb. 2026
• This is not our issue, not our mess.
  — Suzanne Blake, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Nov. 2025
• Yikes, what a mess this already is!
  — Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 3 Mar. 2026
• In the short term, the roster is a mess.
  — Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune, 6 Feb. 2026
• To me, the new system looks like a mess.
  — Gerald Bradshaw, Chicago Tribune, 8 June 2026
• He must be held to account for all his mess.
  — Lillian Metzmeier, Louisville Courier Journal, 6 Feb. 2026
• Note that mess-ups will happen.
  — Alanna Gallo, Parents, 7 Feb. 2026
• His accent is thick and his teeth are a mess.
  — Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 30 Oct. 2025
• There was this one book that was a real mess.
  — Literary Hub, 23 Apr. 2026

mess

2 of 2 verb

• Rocky was not to be messed with.
  — CBS News, 18 June 2026
• There’s no need to mess with that.
  — Chris Vannini, New York Times, 26 June 2026
• This man is not to be messed with.
  — Erin Qualey, Vulture, 29 May 2026
• Do not mess with the cow, er, park!
  — Inga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 Feb. 2026
• This mash-up is not a dish to be messed with.
  — Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 17 May 2026
• Just mess with you a little bit.
  — Shania Russell, Entertainment Weekly, 30 Jan. 2026
• That button will mess a lot of things up.
  — Alexandra Petri, The Atlantic, 6 June 2026
• Hormone changes can mess with your oral health.
  — Erica Sweeney, Washington Post, 12 June 2026
• Don’t mess with the soccer mom.
  — Erin Qualey, Vulture, 17 June 2026
• The Rock Hall just messed this one up.
  — Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 15 Apr. 2026
• What is a home, if not something to be messed with?
  — Joseph Trinidad, Longreads, 16 June 2026
• The drug cartels don't mess with them or their homes.
  — Armando Regil Velasco, FOXNews.com, 8 Mar. 2026
• Bath time can also mess with a cat’s sense of smell.
  — Popular Science Team, Popular Science, 27 Feb. 2026
• Because there are some things that just can't be messed with.
  — Maggie Meyer Glisan, Better Homes & Gardens, 8 Apr. 2026
• Do not mess this up, Bridgerton!
  — Maggie Fremont, Vulture, 4 Mar. 2026
• Don't mess with Texas children.
  — Liam Quinn, PEOPLE, 30 Mar. 2026
• This meant there were few things that would mess with a black-bear-size penguin.
  — Jack Tamisiea, New York Times, 8 Feb. 2023
• Why would players want to cheat, or at least find ways to mess with the new rules?
  — Scott Ostler, San Francisco Chronicle, 10 Sep. 2022
• The rollout of the wireless tech could mess up your next flight.
  — Brett Molina, USA TODAY, 24 Dec. 2021
• The robots are messing with that math.
  — Jayson Stark, New York Times, 3 Apr. 2026
• But something has to go very, very wrong for a film to mess up that kind of premise.
  — Lindsey Bahr, Star Tribune, 16 June 2021
• The handy rule of thumb is don’t mess with those cranky carnivores.
  — Lance Eliot, Forbes, 6 May 2021
• The safest bet is that the Dolphins will find a way to mess it up.
  — Miami Herald, 21 Dec. 2025
• In other words, don’t mess with spaghetti, or its price.
  — Deputy Food Editor, Los Angeles Times, 31 May 2026
• That crash really messed me up.
  — Michael Hollett, SPIN, 14 June 2026
• So no need to mess with rebates or even TrumpRx.
  — Ed Silverman, STAT, 21 Apr. 2026
• So no need to mess with rebates or even TrumpRx.
  — Ed Silverman, STAT, 26 Mar. 2026
• That idea has led to a rigid view that symphonic pieces aren’t to be messed with.
  — Jed Gottlieb, Boston Herald, 9 May 2026
• So no need to mess with rebates, coupons, or TrumpRx.
  — Ed Silverman, STAT, 7 May 2026
• So no need to mess with rebates, coupons, or TrumpRx.
  — Ed Silverman, STAT, 9 Apr. 2026