noun

mess

mehs

noun

A dirty, untidy, or disorganized state of things; also, a difficult or awkward situation.

"The kitchen was a mess after the party."

"He made a mess of the negotiations and lost the client."

A dining area or group of people, especially in the military, who eat meals together.

"The soldiers grabbed breakfast at the officers’ mess."

verb

To mess with/around: to interfere, fool around, or handle something carelessly.

"Don’t mess with the settings unless you know what you’re doing."

"The kids were just messing around in the backyard."

To make dirty or untidy.

"Try not to mess up the living room before the guests arrive."

How to Use Mess

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishA disorganized or dirty state of things, or (in the military) a place/group for eating meals together.

Common mistake

"Mess" as a military dining hall (mess hall) is unrelated in feel to "mess" meaning chaos, even though the word is the same.

Common pairings

clean up the mess make a mess mess with mess hall in a mess

Word Forms

messed past tense, messed past tense, messes plural, messes plural, Messes plural, messes singular, messes singular

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The kitchen was a _____ after the party.

Etymology

From an older sense meaning food served at one sitting, related to a Middle English word for a portion of food; the "untidy state" sense developed later, possibly linked to a word for mixed-up food or animal feed.

Rhymes for mess

ess less Jess fess ness Bess Tess Hess chess bless guess press

See all rhymes for mess →