(~es, ~ing, ~ed)
Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English.
1.
A ~ of things is a large number of them grouped together.
On his desk is a ~ of books and papers.
N-SING: N of n
2.
A ~ of something is a large amount of it.
She had a ~ of auburn hair.
N-SING: N of n
3.
Masses of something means a great deal of it. (INFORMAL)
There’s ~es of work for her to do...
It has ~es of flowers each year.
QUANT: QUANT of n-uncount/pl-n
4.
Mass is used to describe something which involves or affects a very large number of people.
...ideas on combating ~ unemployment...
...weapons of ~ destruction.
ADJ: ADJ n
5.
A ~ 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 ~...
The fourteenth century cathedral was reduced to a ~ of rubble.
N-COUNT: oft N of n
6.
If you talk about the ~es, 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 ~es...
N-PLURAL: the N
7.
The ~ of people are most of the people in a country, society, or group.
The 1939-45 world war involved the ~ of the population...
= bulk, majority
N-SING: the N of n
8.
When people or things ~, or when you ~ them, they gather together into a large crowd or group.
Shortly after the workers went on strike, police began to ~ at the shipyard...
The General was ~ing his troops for a counterattack.
= gather
VERB: V, V n
9.
If you say that something is a ~ of things, you mean that it is covered with them or full of them.
In the spring, the meadow is a ~ of daffodils.
N-SING: N of n
10.
In physics, the ~ of an object is the amount of physical matter that it has. (TECHNICAL)
Astronomers know that Pluto and Triton have nearly the same size, ~, and density.
N-VAR
11.
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.
N-VAR
12.
see also ~ed , critical ~ , land ~