mass

CEFRB1

/mæs/

noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    A large amount or number of people or things.

  2. 02

    noun

    The amount of matter in an object.

Examples

  • Mass is a Catholic ceremony of remembering Jesus Christ by eating and drinking.

  • The world faces the tremendous problem of mass unemployment.

At a glance

Sits at B1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
1
Citations
5
Synonyms
2

Also pronounced

  • /mas/

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

  1. Matter, material., A measure of the inertia of a mass of matter, one of four fundamental properties of matter. SI unit of mass: kilogram.

  2. Matter, material., Precious metal, especially gold or silver.

  3. Matter, material.

More examples

In context

  • There is a mass of dark clouds in the sky.

  • A mass of ships converged on the beaches of Dunkirk.

  • The mass of spectators didn't see the infraction on the field.

Synonyms

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A blank of protesters filled the streets, causing gridlock.

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Nearby

Origin

noun

In late Middle English (circa 1400) as masse in the sense of "lump, quantity of matter", from Anglo-Norman masse, in Old French attested from the 11th century, via late Latin massa (“lump, dough”), from Ancient Greek μᾶζα (mâza, “barley-cake, lump (of dough)”). The Greek noun may be derived from the verb μάσσω (mássō, “to knead”), ultimately from a Proto-Indo-European *maǵ- (“to oil, knead”), although this is uncertain. Doublet of masa. The sense of "a large number or quantity" arises circa 1580. The scientific sense is from 1687 (as Latin massa) in the works of Isaac Newton, with the first English use (as mass) occurring in 1704.