If a place, event, or situation is a ~ or is in a ~, everything is in disorder.
The ship’s interior was an utter ~...
The economy is in a ~.
= mess
N-SING
If a place, event, or situation is a ~ or is in a ~, everything is in disorder.
The ship’s interior was an utter ~...
The economy is in a ~.
= mess
N-SING
Collins COBUILD. Толковый словарь английского языка для изучающих язык Коллинз COBUILD (международная база данных языков Бирмингемского университета) . 2012