MASS (masses)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

Irregular inflected form: masses   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does Mass mean? 

• MASS (noun)
  The noun MASS has 9 senses:

1. the property of a body that causes it to have weight in a gravitational field

2. (often followed by 'of') a large number or amount or extent

3. an ill-structured collection of similar things (objects or people)

4. (Roman Catholic Church and Protestant Churches) the celebration of the Eucharist

5. a body of matter without definite shape

6. the common people generally

7. the property of something that is great in magnitude

8. a musical setting for a Mass

9. a sequence of prayers constituting the Christian Eucharistic rite

  Familiarity information: MASS used as a noun is familiar.

• MASS (adjective)
  The adjective MASS has 1 sense:

1. formed of separate units gathered into a mass or whole

  Familiarity information: MASS used as an adjective is very rare.

• MASS (verb)
  The verb MASS has 1 sense:

1. join together into a mass or collect or form a mass

  Familiarity information: MASS used as a verb is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• MASS (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The property of a body that causes it to have weight in a gravitational field

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Hypernyms ("mass" is a kind of...):

physical property (any property used to characterize matter and energy and their interactions)

fundamental measure; fundamental quantity (one of the four quantities that are the basis of systems of measurement)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "mass"):

body (the main mass of a thing)

biomass (the total mass of living matter in a given unit area)

critical mass (the minimum mass of fissionable material that can sustain a chain reaction)

rest mass ((physics) the mass of a body as measured when the body is at rest relative to an observer, an inherent property of the body)

relativistic mass ((physics) the mass of a body in motion relative to the observer: it is equal to the rest mass multiplied by a factor that is greater than 1 and that increases as the magnitude of the velocity increases)

bulk (the property possessed by a large mass)

gravitational mass ((physics) the mass of a body as measured by its gravitational attraction for other bodies)

inertial mass ((physics) the mass of a body as determined by the second law of motion from the acceleration of the body when it is subjected to a force that is not due to gravity)

atomic mass; atomic weight; relative atomic mass ((chemistry) the mass of an atom of a chemical element expressed in atomic mass units)

mass energy ((physics) the mass of a body regarded relativistically as energy)

molecular weight; relative molecular mass ((chemistry) the sum of the relative atomic masses of the constituent atoms of a molecule)

mass defect; mass deficiency (the amount by which the mass of an atomic nucleus is less than the sum of the masses of its constituent particles)

Sense 2

Meaning:

(often followed by 'of') a large number or amount or extent

Classified under:

Nouns denoting quantities and units of measure

Synonyms:

batch; deal; flock; good deal; great deal; hatful; heap; lot; mass; mess; mickle; mint; mountain; muckle; passel; peck; pile; plenty; pot; quite a little; raft; sight; slew; spate; stack; tidy sum; wad

Context example:

a wad of money

Hypernyms ("mass" is a kind of...):

large indefinite amount; large indefinite quantity (an indefinite quantity that is above the average in size or magnitude)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "mass"):

deluge; flood; inundation; torrent (an overwhelming number or amount)

haymow (a mass of hay piled up in a barn for preservation)

Sense 3

Meaning:

An ill-structured collection of similar things (objects or people)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects

Hypernyms ("mass" is a kind of...):

accumulation; aggregation; assemblage; collection (several things grouped together or considered as a whole)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "mass"):

logjam (an immovable mass of logs blocking a river)

shock (a bushy thick mass (especially hair))

Derivation:

mass (join together into a mass or collect or form a mass)

Sense 4

Meaning:

(Roman Catholic Church and Protestant Churches) the celebration of the Eucharist

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("Mass" is a kind of...):

religious ceremony; religious ritual (a ceremony having religious meaning)

Domain category:

Church of Rome; Roman Catholic; Roman Catholic Church; Roman Church; Western Church (the Christian Church based in the Vatican and presided over by a pope and an episcopal hierarchy)

Protestant; Protestant Church (the Protestant churches and denominations collectively)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "Mass"):

Low Mass (a Mass recited without music)

Requiem (a Mass celebrated for the dead)

High Mass (a solemn and elaborate Mass with music)

Sense 5

Meaning:

A body of matter without definite shape

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural objects (not man-made)

Context example:

a huge ice mass

Hypernyms ("mass" is a kind of...):

body (an individual 3-dimensional object that has mass and that is distinguishable from other objects)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "mass"):

coprolith; faecalith; fecalith; stercolith (a hard mass of fecal matter)

drift (a large mass of material that is heaped up by the wind or by water currents)

mat (a mass that is densely tangled or interwoven)

mush; pulp (any soft or soggy mass)

Sense 6

Meaning:

The common people generally

Classified under:

Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects

Synonyms:

hoi polloi; mass; masses; multitude; people; the great unwashed

Context example:

power to the people

Hypernyms ("mass" is a kind of...):

group; grouping (any number of entities (members) considered as a unit)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "mass"):

laity; temporalty (in Christianity, members of a religious community that do not have the priestly responsibilities of ordained clergy)

audience (the part of the general public interested in a source of information or entertainment)

followers; following (a group of followers or enthusiasts)

Sense 7

Meaning:

The property of something that is great in magnitude

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Synonyms:

bulk; mass; volume

Context example:

the volume of exports

Hypernyms ("mass" is a kind of...):

magnitude (the property of relative size or extent (whether large or small))

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "mass"):

dollar volume; turnover (the volume measured in dollars)

Sense 8

Meaning:

A musical setting for a Mass

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Context example:

they played a Mass composed by Beethoven

Hypernyms ("Mass" is a kind of...):

church music; religious music (genre of music composed for performance as part of religious ceremonies)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "Mass"):

Requiem (a musical setting for a Mass celebrating the dead)

Holonyms ("Mass" is a part of...):

High Mass (a solemn and elaborate Mass with music)

Sense 9

Meaning:

A sequence of prayers constituting the Christian Eucharistic rite

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Context example:

the priest said Mass

Hypernyms ("Mass" is a kind of...):

prayer (a fixed text used in praying)

• MASS (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Formed of separate units gathered into a mass or whole

Synonyms:

aggregate; aggregated; aggregative; mass

Context example:

the aggregated amount of indebtedness

Similar:

collective (forming a whole or aggregate)

• MASS (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they mass    ... he / she / it masses   
Past simple: massed   
Past participle: massed   
-ing form: massing   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Join together into a mass or collect or form a mass

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Context example:

Crowds were massing outside the palace

Hypernyms (to "mass" is one way to...):

crowd; crowd together (to gather together in large numbers)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "mass"):

press (crowd closely)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s PP

Sentence example:

The crowds mass in the streets

Derivation:

mass (an ill-structured collection of similar things (objects or people))

 Context examples 

This may result in improved body weight, muscle mass and may improve weakness and fatigue associated with cancer-related cachexia.

(Anticachexia Agent MT-102, NCI Thesaurus)

The non-SI unit of mass equal to 60 grains, 3 scruples, 1/8 troy ounce, or approximately 3.8879 grams.

(Apothecaries Dram Mass Unit, NCI Thesaurus)

Describes a drug or effect that works against cachexia (loss of body weight and muscle mass).

(Anticachexia, NCI Dictionary)

Anti-CCR2 monoclonal antibody MLN1202 blocks the action of a substance that is involved in keeping healthy bone mass.

(anti-CCR2 monoclonal antibody MLN1202, NCI Dictionary)

Most patients present with painless circumscribed masses.

(Angiomyofibroblastoma, NCI Thesaurus)

The non-SI unit of mass equal to 20 grains or 1.295 978 2 grams.

(Apothecaries Scruple, NCI Thesaurus)

NGTS-1b's mass is less than Jupiter, about 0.812 MJ (mass of Jupiter), but it has greater volume, with radius about 1.33 RJ (radius of Jupiter).

(Astronomers report dwarf star with unexpectedly giant planet, Wikinews)

Example methods include: weighing, use of a mass spectrometer, use of an ion sensitive electrode, and examination using a microscope.

(Method, LOINC Axis 6, NCI Thesaurus)

The brighter star is about half as massive and large as the Sun, while its companion is about one-third the Sun's mass and size.

(Citizen Scientists Find New World with NASA Telescope, NASA)

Prognosis is favorable following surgical resection of the ovarian mass.

(Meigs Syndrome, NCI Thesaurus)