mess
Americannoun
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a dirty, untidy, or disordered condition.
The room was in a mess.
- Antonyms:
- order
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a person or thing that is dirty, untidy, or disordered.
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a state of embarrassing confusion.
My affairs are in a mess.
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an unpleasant or difficult situation.
She got into a mess driving without a license.
- Synonyms:
- pickle, plight, predicament
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a dirty or untidy mass, litter, or jumble.
a mess of papers.
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a group regularly taking their meals together.
-
the meal so taken.
-
Naval. messroom.
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a quantity of food sufficient for a dish or a single occasion.
to pick a mess of sweet corn for dinner.
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a sloppy or unappetizing preparation of food.
-
a dish or quantity of soft or liquid food.
to cook up a nice mess of pottage.
-
a person whose life or affairs are in a state of confusion, especially a person with a confused or disorganized moral or psychological outlook.
verb (used with object)
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to make dirty or untidy (often followed byup ).
Don't mess the room.
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to make a mess or muddle of (affairs, responsibilities, etc.) (often followed byup ).
They messed the deal.
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to supply with meals, as military personnel.
-
to treat roughly; beat up (usually followed byup ).
The gang messed him up.
verb (used without object)
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to eat in company, especially as a member of a mess.
-
to make a dirty or untidy mess.
verb phrase
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mess up
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mess around / about
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Informal. to busy oneself without purpose or plan; work aimlessly or halfheartedly; putter.
-
Informal. to waste time; loaf.
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Informal. to meddle or interfere.
-
Informal. to involve or associate oneself, especially for immoral or unethical purposes.
His wife accused him of messing around with gamblers.
-
Slang. to trifle sexually; philander.
-
-
mess in / with to intervene officiously; meddle.
You'll get no thanks for messing in the affairs of others.
noun
-
a state of confusion or untidiness, esp if dirty or unpleasant
the house was in a mess
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a chaotic or troublesome state of affairs; muddle
his life was a mess
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informal a dirty or untidy person or thing
-
archaic a portion of food, esp soft or semiliquid food
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a place where service personnel eat or take recreation
an officers' mess
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a group of people, usually servicemen, who eat together
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the meal so taken
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a material gain involving the sacrifice of a higher value
verb
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to muddle or dirty
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(intr) to make a mess
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to interfere; meddle
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(intr; often foll by with or together) military to group together, esp for eating
Etymology
Origin of mess
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English mes, from Old French: “course at a meal,” from Late Latin missus “(something) sent” (i.e., put on the table), noun use of past participle of Latin mittere “to send”
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Sometimes we need people with courage to clean up the mess that exist.
From Los Angeles Times
In a broad-ranging interview, the south Londoner - whose dad was a Turkish Cypriot - also spoke about immigration, the NHS and how, in her opinion, the UK has ended up in "in a mess", politically speaking.
From BBC
But gone too is a sense that we understand each other’s pasts, and Nicole’s understanding of Birdie shatters into a mess of devotion and anger.
From Los Angeles Times
Some businesses don’t want to deal with the mess, and are opting to sell the rights to any refunds they might be due.
He commutes to his job at a Copenhagen newspaper via bicycle, and says it can sometimes be difficult just to find a bike amid the mess of metal and rubber.
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
