Meaning & use
mess
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Meanings
nounusually singular
An untidy or dirty state, or a pile of things left in disorder.
Grammar: Often takes a: the kitchen was a mess; also uncountable in make a mess.
Patterns
- be a mess
- make a mess
- in a mess
The kids left the living room in a terrible mess after the party.
Your desk is a mess, so I can never find anything.
Please clean up the mess before your guests arrive.
nounusually singularinformalfigurative
A confused, troubled or badly handled situation, or a person whose life seems out of control.
Grammar: Used figuratively with a: the project is a mess; get out of a mess.
Patterns
- make a mess of something
- get into a mess
- get out of a mess
The company's finances are in a real mess.
After the breakup he was an emotional mess for weeks.
I made a mess of the interview by forgetting her name.
verbtransitive or intransitiveinformal
To make something untidy, or to treat or handle something carelessly, usually with up, around or with.
Grammar: Often a phrasal verb: mess something up (object) or mess around (no object).
Patterns
- mess something up
- mess around
- mess with something
Don't mess up my hair before the photo.
He messed around with the settings and now the app won't start.
I wouldn't mess with that dog if I were you.
Word forms
| plural | messes |
|---|---|
| third person singular | messes |
| past tense | messed |
| past participle | messed |
| -ing form | messing |
Common combinations
- make a mess
- The toddler made a mess with the spaghetti.
- clean up a mess
- We spent the whole morning cleaning up the mess from the flood.
- a complete mess
- After the storm the garden was a complete mess.
- a hot mess
- She showed up late with mismatched shoes, a hot mess but cheerful.
- mess up
- I messed up the recipe by adding salt twice.
- get into a mess
- He got into a mess with his tax forms.
Synonyms and how they differ
- clutter
- Clutter means too many things lying about, while mess can also include dirt, spills or a bad situation.
- chaos
- Chaos is stronger and suggests total disorder with no control, whereas mess is more everyday and often fixable.
- disarray
- Disarray is more formal and describes things thrown out of their proper order rather than dirty.
- muddle
- Muddle stresses confusion, such as mixed-up plans or papers, more than physical dirt.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: mess or mass?
mess vs mass
Mass means a large amount or a body of matter; mess means disorder. They sound different, so do not swap them.
Practice
After the flood, the basement was a complete ___.
Choose one answer.
Mess means a dirty, disordered state. Mass is a real word but means a large amount, so it does not describe the condition of the room.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “mess”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.