3 N‑COUNT A masquerade is an event such as a party or dance where people dress up in disguise and wear masks. □ …a masquerade ball.
mass ◆◆◇ /mæ s/ (masses , massing , massed )
1 N‑SING A mass of things is a large number of them grouped together. □ [+ of ] On his desk is a mass of books and papers.
2 N‑SING A mass of something is a large amount of it. □ [+ of ] She had a mass of auburn hair.
3 QUANT Masses of something means a great deal of it. [INFORMAL ] □ There's masses of work for her to do. □ It has masses of flowers each year.
4 ADJ [ADJ n] Mass is used to describe something which involves or affects a very large number of people. □ …ideas on combating mass unemployment. □ …weapons of mass destruction.
5 N‑COUNT A mass of a solid substance, a liquid, or a gas is an amount of it, especially a large amount which has no definite shape. □ …before it cools and sets into a solid mass. □ [+ of ] The fourteenth century cathedral was reduced to a mass of rubble.
6 N‑PLURAL If you talk about the masses , you mean the ordinary people in society, in contrast to the leaders or the highly educated people. □ His music is commercial. It is aimed at the masses.
7 N‑SING The mass of people are most of the people in a country, society, or group. □ [+ of ] The 1939-45 world war involved the mass of the population.
8 VERB When people or things mass , or when you mass them, they gather together into a large crowd or group. □ [V ] Shortly after the workers went on strike, police began to mass at the shipyard. □ [V n] The General was massing his troops for a counterattack.
9 N‑SING If you say that something is a mass of things, you mean that it is covered with them or full of them. □ [+ of ] In the spring, the meadow is a mass of daffodils.
10 N‑VAR In physics, the mass of an object is the amount of physical matter that it has. [TECHNICAL ] □ Astronomers know that Pluto and Triton have nearly the same size, mass, and density.
11 N‑VAR Mass is a Christian church ceremony, especially in a Roman Catholic or Orthodox church, during which people eat bread and drink wine in order to remember the last meal of Jesus Christ. □ She attended a convent school and went to Mass each day.
12 → see also massed , critical mass , land mass
mas|sa|cre /mæ səkə r / (massacres , massacring , massacred )
1 N‑VAR A massacre is the killing of a large number of people at the same time in a violent and cruel way. □ Maria lost her 62-year-old mother in the massacre. □ …reports of massacre, torture and starvation.
2 VERB If people are massacred , a large number of them are attacked and killed in a violent and cruel way. □ [be V -ed] 300 civilians are believed to have been massacred by the rebels. □ [V n] Troops indiscriminately massacred the defenceless population.
mas|sage /mæ sɑːʒ, [AM ] məsɑː ʒ/ (massages , massaging , massaged )
1 N‑VAR Massage is the action of squeezing and rubbing someone's body, as a way of making them relax or reducing their pain. □ Alex asked me if I wanted a massage.
2 VERB If you massage someone or a part of their body, you squeeze and rub their body, in order to make them relax or reduce their pain. □ [V n] She continued massaging her right foot, which was bruised and aching.
3 VERB If you say that someone massages statistics, figures, or evidence, you are criticizing them for changing or presenting the facts in a way that misleads people. [DISAPPROVAL ] □ [V n] Their governments have no reason to 'massage' the statistics.
ma s|sage pa r|lour (massage parlours ) in AM, use massage parlor N‑COUNT A massage parlour is a place where people go and pay for a massage. Some places that are called massage parlours are in fact places where people pay to have sex.
masse → see en masse
massed /mæ st/ ADJ [ADJ n] Massed is used to describe a large number of people who have been brought together for a particular purpose. □ He could not escape the massed ranks of newsmen.
mas|seur /mæsɜː r , [AM ] -sʊ ə r/ (masseurs ) N‑COUNT A masseur is a person whose job is to give massages.
mas|seuse /mæsɜː z, [AM ] -suː s/ (masseuses ) N‑COUNT A masseuse is a woman whose job is to give massages.
mas|sif /mæsiː f/ (massifs ) N‑COUNT [oft in names] A massif is a group of mountains that form part of a mountain range.
mas|sive ◆◇◇ /mæ s I v/
1 ADJ Something that is massive is very large in size, quantity, or extent. [EMPHASIS ] □ There was evidence of massive fraud. □ …massive air attacks. □ The scale of the problem is massive. ● mas|sive|ly ADV □ …a massively popular game.
2 ADJ [ADJ n] If you describe a medical condition as massive , you mean that it is extremely serious. □ He died six weeks later of a massive heart attack. SYNONYMS massive ADJ 1
huge: …a tiny little woman with huge black glasses.
enormous: The main bedroom is enormous.
gigantic: …gigantic rocks.
vast: …Afrikaner farmers who own vast stretches of land.