messes

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of mess.

   The flood left several messes that took weeks to clean up.

   Toddlers create new messes faster than parents can tidy them.

   Note

   The plural fits wherever a mess can be counted: separate spills, tangled situations, or several people each in emotional turmoil. Older English also spoke of messes of food, meaning portions set on the table at one time or a single feeding for an animal, a use now archaic. When mess means disorder in general rather than particular instances, it stays singular: there was mess everywhere.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of mess.

   The cat messes with the curtains whenever it gets bored.

   Whenever he reorganizes the files, he messes up the whole system.

   Note

   The -es ending follows the double s, as in passes or kisses, and this one form serves both halves of the verb. Used transitively, it means to soil something or throw it into disorder, often with up: he messes up the system. Used intransitively, it means to interfere, typically followed by with, or to take meals with a mess and belong to one.

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