Meaning of mass In English

• 0 having an effect on or involving a large number of people or forming a large amount:

  • weapons of mass destruction

  • a mass murderer

  • mass starvation

  • Opposition groups plan to stage mass demonstrations all over the country.

• 1 a large amount of something that has no particular shape or arrangement:

  • The explosion reduced the church to a mass of rubble.

  • The forest is a mass of colour in autumn.

  • [ + to infinitive ] I've got masses to do at the weekend.

  • There were masses of people in town today.

  • The mass of the people support the reforms.

• 2 a solid lump with no clear shape:

  • The sauce was now a sticky mass at the bottom of the pan.

• 3 the ordinary people who form the largest group in a society:

  • He was popular with the rich but failed to win the support of the masses.

• 4 the amount of matter in any solid object or in any volume of liquid or gas:

  • The acceleration of a body equals the force exerted on it divided by its mass.

• 5 a religious ceremony in some Christian Churches based on Jesus' last meal with his disciples, or music written for parts of this ceremony:

  • to go to Mass

• 6 to come together in large numbers:

  • Thousands of troops have massed along the border in preparation for an invasion.

• 7 a large amount or number:

  • A mass of earth and granite slid down into the narrow gorge.

  • We had to wade through masses of seaweed.

• 8 the amount of matter in any solid object or in any volume of liquid or gas

• 9 the outside size or shape of an object, or how big it appears to be

• 10 to come or bring together in large numbers:

  • [ I ] The crowd massed around the entrance to the exhibition.

• 11 involving or having an effect on a large number of people or things:

  • weapons of mass destruction

  • They hope the new movie will appeal to a mass audience.

• 12 (esp. in the Roman Catholic Church) a religious ceremony based on Jesus’s last meal with his disciples (= the men who followed him), or music written for the parts of this ceremony

• 13 having an effect on or involving a large number of people:

  • There have been two decades of mass unemployment.

  • mass audience/appeal A smaller company could produce a breakthrough product with mass appeal.

  • mass consumerism/consumption The society that we live in now is so geared to spending and mass consumerism.

  • a mass protest/rally/action

• 14 the amount of matter in any solid object or volume of liquid or gas:

  • These activities help strengthen bones and increase their mass.

• 15 a large amount of something:

  • The media company has enjoyed a mass of hype.

  • They were part of the large mass of consumers who acquired a credit card in the 1980s.