See Also: mass 1, noun(dictionary)
mass(2)(dictionary)
mass(dictionary)
mass(4)(dictionary)
mass(3)(dictionary)
Mass(medicine)
air mass(encyclopedia)
mass law(medicine)
Mass.(dictionary)
mass(encyclopedia)

mass 1, noun (oh)



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1 ?large amount?
2 ?crowd?
3 the masses
4 the mass of people/the population/workers etc
5 ?church ceremony?
6 ?science?
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[Sense: 1-2,5-6; Date: 1300-1400; Language: French; Origin: masse, from Latin massa, from Greek maza]
[Sense: 3-4; Date: 800-900; Language: Vulgar Latin; Origin: missa 'sending away at the end of a religious service', from Latin mittere 'to send']
?LARGE AMOUNT?
a) [C] a large amount of a substance which does not have a definite or regular shape
::The food had congealed into a sticky mass.
mass of
::a high mass of rock
b) [C usually singular] a large amount or quantity of something
mass of
::a huge mass of data
c) masses of sth
BrE informal a large amount of something, or a lot of people or things
::Masses of books covered every surface in the room.
?CROWD?
[singular] a large crowd
mass of
::There was a mass of people around the club entrance.
::The road was blocked by a solid mass of protesters.
the masses
all the ordinary people in society who do not have power or influence
::The trains provided cheap travel for the masses.
the mass of people/the population/workers etc
most of the people in a group or society
-synonym the majority the majority
::The war is strongly supported by the mass of the population.
?CHURCH CEREMONY?
also Mass
a) [U and C] the main ceremony in some Christian churches, especially the Roman Catholic Church, which celebrates the last meal that Jesus Christ ate
::What time do you go to mass ?
morning/evening/midnight etc Mass
::Will I see you at morning Mass?
say/celebrate Mass
(=perform this ceremony as a priest)
-see also High Mass
b) [C] a piece of music written to be performed at the ceremony of mass
::Mozart's Mass in C minor
?SCIENCE?
[U] technical the amount of material in something
::The sun makes up 99.9% of the mass of our solar system.
-see also critical mass