masses

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of mass. Use this when you mean more than one lump or amount of something.

   Large masses of ice broke off the glacier and crashed into the sea.

   Dark masses of cloud gathered over the hills before the storm.

   Note
2. 2
   nounplural

   A very large number of ordinary people taken together.

   Like a huge crowd at a fair, made up of everyday people.

   The masses came out to celebrate the holiday in the streets.

   Cheap printing brought books to the masses for the first time.

   Similarpublic, populace, people, multitude

   Oppositeelite

   Note
3. 3
   nounplural

   The common people, not the rich and powerful few.

   Like everyone in town except the few who own the big houses.

   The new tax hit the masses hardest while the wealthy paid little.

   Revolutions often begin when the masses lose patience with their rulers.

   Similarproletariat, commoners, populace, multitude, plebeians

   Oppositeelite, aristocracy, nobility

   Note
4. 4
   nounplural

   All the people who live somewhere, counted together.

   Like counting every single person in a country, not just some of them.

   The census set out to count the masses in every district.

   Clean drinking water finally reached the masses across the whole country.

   Similarpopulation, populace, public, people

   Note
5. 5
   verb

   The form of mass used in the present with he, she, it, or a singular noun such as the dog or water.

   The army masses near the border before every major attack.

   A crowd masses outside the stadium hours before the game.

   Note

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