mess

1 of 2

noun

ˈmes 

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

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

4

: a large quantity or number

They're in a mess of trouble.

mess

2 of 2

verb

messed; messing; messes

transitive verb

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

4

: to rough up : manhandle

—often used with up

mess him up good so he won't cheat us again

intransitive verb

1

: to take meals with a mess

2

: to make a mess

3

a

: putter, trifle

children like to mess around with paints

b

: to handle or play with something especially carelessly

don't mess with my camera

—often used with around

c

: to take an active interest in something or someone

messing around with new video techniques

also : interfere, meddle

messing in other people's affairs

you'd better not mess with me

4

: to become confused or make an error

—usually used with up

Synonyms

Noun

• chance-medley
• chaos
• confusion
• disarrangement
• disarray
• dishevelment
• disorder
• disorderedness
• disorderliness
• disorganization
• free-for-all
• havoc
• heck
• hell
• jumble
• mare's nest
• messiness
• misorder
• muddle
• muss
• shambles
• snake pit
• tumble
• welter

Verb

• butt in
• interfere
• interlope
• intermeddle
• intrude
• meddle
• muck (about or around)
• nose
• obtrude
• poke
• pry
• snoop

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

Noun

Related Articles The mess began when the application was launched two months later than expected. —Molly Gibbs, The Mercury News, 11 Apr. 2024

On the 29th you’re called on to sort out other people’s messes. —Debbie Frank, Peoplemag, 10 Apr. 2024

With 200,000 fibers per square each, the microfiber towels in this set from The Rag Company can absorb more than 10 times their weight for heavy-duty messes and are compatible with almost every surface. —Jenna Clark, Better Homes & Gardens, 8 Apr. 2024

Offload some of that labor to a robot that will never complain about messes and spills. —K. Thor Jensen, PCMAG, 5 Apr. 2024

His platform — a farrago of liberal and conservative views mashed up with a mess of conspiracy-laden pottage, isn’t easily categorized. —Mark Z. Barabak, Los Angeles Times, 4 Apr. 2024

The downside is that this can result in a mess similar to petroleum jelly. Silicone Spray: Applying a small amount of silicone spray lubricant to the zipper teeth can help reduce friction and make the zipper glide more smoothly. —Maryal Miller Carter, USA TODAY, 4 Apr. 2024

Related article Paying for the Baltimore bridge collapse will be a complicated, yearslong mess Over 2,400 feet of boom have also been deployed to contain any potential pollution leaks from the ship, Moore said. —Elizabeth Wolfe, CNN, 29 Mar. 2024

United Airlines, meanwhile, is facing more oversight from the FAA, and Airbus is worried about a Boeing-style mess. —Susan Howson, Quartz, 29 Mar. 2024

Verb

Not messing too much with the roster and chemistry of this squad was the best offseason move. —Daniel Kohn, SPIN, 27 Mar. 2024

This point is very easy to overlook, and almost every business owner has messed this up at times. —Evan Kirkpatrick, Forbes, 26 Feb. 2024

Of course, there's a chance that Big Media will mess it up. —Scharon Harding, Ars Technica, 7 Feb. 2024

There are endless ways to make them–and mess them up. —Lisa Cericola, Southern Living, 5 Feb. 2024

Still, Jardin approaches this story rather as the smirking, meddling Forbes seemingly enters the party: as an agent of chaos, out to mix and mess things up for the sheer hell of it. —Guy Lodge, Variety, 21 Jan. 2024

Weighing in at just 3 pounds, the handheld vacuum is easy to carry from mess to mess. —Clara McMahon, Peoplemag, 18 Jan. 2024

Some companies mess this up, but the ones that get it right are doing well, Singh said. —Kylie Robison, Fortune, 13 Dec. 2023

Faced with these choices, the tendency is to either freeze (do nothing) or make a quick choice to reduce your anxiety (and potentially mess everything up). —Ken Sterling, Forbes, 28 Nov. 2023

Word History

Etymology

Noun and Verb

Middle English mes, from Anglo-French, from Late Latin missus course at a meal, from missus, past participle of mittere to put, from Latin, to send — more at smite

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Phrases Containing mess

• make a mess of
• a mess of pottage
• hot mess
• mess about
• mess hall
• mess about with (something)
• mess up
• mess (something or someone) up
• mess around with (something)
• mess kit
• mess around
• mess jacket
• mess over
• mess with
• mess with someone's mind/head

Video

Hot Mess

Our research turned up two archaic literal meanings

Kids Definition

mess

1 of 2 noun

ˈmes 

1

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 verb

1

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