mess

MES/mɛs/

Pluralmesses

Verbmesses, messing, messed

18 meanings of mess

Practice

1
untidy statenouncountable or uncountable
A dirty or untidy state where things are out of place. It can also mean a difficult or bad situation.
Like a bedroom floor covered with toys, clothes, and books all dropped everywhere.
The kids left a huge mess in the kitchen after baking.
After the storm, the whole yard was a mess.
UsageSay make a mess or in a mess.
Similarchaos, disorder, confusion, disarray, muddle
Oppositeorder, tidiness, neatness
2
throw into disorderverbtransitive
To put something into disorder or to spoil it.
The wind messed her carefully styled hair.
The wind can mess up her hair the moment she steps outside.
UsagePeople usually say mess up.
Similarruin, wreck, spoil, damage
3
interfereverbintransitive
To get involved in something in a way that causes trouble.
Don't mess with the controls while the machine is on.
Stop messing in other people's business.
UsageSay don't mess with it.
Similarmeddle, interfere, tamper, tinker, fiddle
4
upset personnounfigurativelycountable or uncountable
Someone who is very upset and cannot deal with their feelings or life.
Like a tower of blocks that has fallen down and can't stand back up.
After the breakup, she was a complete mess for weeks.
He's such a mess that he can barely get out of bed.
UsageSay I'm a mess or a complete mess.
Similarwreck
Note
5
dining hallnouncountable
A room or building where soldiers or sailors eat their meals together.
The soldiers headed to the mess for dinner.
The ship's mess was crowded at lunchtime.
UsageSay the officers' mess.
Similarcanteen, cafeteria, refectory
Note
6
large amountnouncolloquialcountable or uncountable
A large amount or number of something.
Like a big pile of something, more than you can easily count.
There's a whole mess of paperwork to get through before lunch.
They picked a mess of berries from the garden.
UsageSay a whole mess of something.
Similarlot, load, heap, bunch, slew
Note

Less common meanings

7
eating groupnouncollectivecountable
A group of people, especially soldiers, who regularly eat their meals together.
The sergeant ate with his mess every evening.
Each mess shared one long table in the barracks.
Note
8
animal droppingsnouneuphemisticcountable or uncountable
A polite word for solid waste from the body, especially from an animal.
The puppy left a mess on the carpet again.
She cleaned up the cat's mess from the floor.
UsageSay the puppy left a mess.
Similardroppings
9
dirty with wasteverbtransitive
To make something dirty by passing solid waste onto it.
Sick animals sometimes mess their bedding during the night.
The frightened puppy messed the kitchen floor.
Similarfoul, soil, dirty
Note
10
verbintransitive
To eat meals together as a group, especially in the army or navy.
The new recruits mess in the main hall alongside their platoon each evening.
Junior officers messed together in the same hall.
UsageSay they mess together.
Similareat, dine
11
nounarchaic
An amount of food served at one meal, for a person, group, or animal.
At their savoury dinner set / Of herbs and other country messes.
a. 1645, John Milton, “L’Allegro”Here, messes means servings of food for a meal.
c. 1555, Hugh Latimer, letter to one in prison for the profession of the Gospel a mess of pottage
Note
12
fruit dessertnouncountable or uncountable
A sweet dish made of fruit mixed with cream.
Like fruit mixed into a bowl of whipped cream.
She made a strawberry mess for dessert.
We finished the meal with a creamy fruit mess.
UsageSay strawberry mess or Eton mess.
Note
13
simple restaurantnounIndiacountable
A simple eating place that serves home-style cooking.
Like a small, friendly diner where the food tastes home-cooked.
College students eat cheap home-style meals at a mess near campus in Pune.
The little mess on the corner serves great stew.
Similardiner, eatery, cafe, canteen
Note
14
verbdated
To give meals to a group or person.
15
verbrare
To make something dirty with semen.
16
noun
A set of four people, especially seated together at a meal.
17
noundialectal
The amount of milk a cow gives at one milking.
18
noun
A group of iguanas living or resting together.

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of mess apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origins

Meanings 1–4, 6, 8–9

Maybe a changed form of Middle English 'mesh' (mash), or from the older sense 'mixed foods'.

Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 2 facts

Mess may be a changed form of Middle English mesh, meaning mash. en.wiktionary.org
Alternatively, mess may derive from the older food sense. en.wiktionary.org

Meanings 5, 7, 10–13

The Middle English word mes came from two places. One was an Old English word for "table," which was taken from Latin mensa ("table, meal"). The other was the Old French word mes.