n. 1 chaos, disorder, disarray, disorganization, shambles, muddle, disarrangement, clutter, hotchpotch or US also hodgepodge, litter, tangle, jumble, confusion, mishmash; untidiness Would you help me clean up this mess? Drugs have made a mess of her life 2 concoction, mixture, medley, miscellany, hash, gallimaufry, farrago, olio, olla podrida, pot-pourri, smorgasbord or smörgåsbord, kedgeree They presented us with a huge mess of things from which we must select what we want 3 predicament, difficulty, plight, pinch, trouble, dilemma, quandary, imbroglio, Colloq foul-up, stew, fix, hot water, (pretty or fine) kettle of fish, pickle, jam, Slang screw-up, Brit balls-up, can of worms, US snafu You have got yourself into a fine mess this time!
v. 4 mess about or around (with). a potter, fool (around), dally, busy oneself, fiddle about or around, play He enjoys messing about in boats b philander, trifle, toy, flirt, seduce, sleep around, fool around, run around She doesn't want him to mess about with other women 5 mess up. a disarrange, disarray, dishevel, tousle, Colloq US muss (up) He always messes up my hair when he kisses me b ruin, destroy, make a shambles of, wreck, bungle, botch, foul up, Colloq make a hash of, Slang muck up Making that one little mistake messed up his whole career c dirty, clutter up, make untidy, turn upside down, pull to pieces, upset The police messed up my whole house looking for the pistol 6 mess with. interfere in or with, intervene, meddle with or in, intrude in, butt in or into, tinker with, tamper with, get involved in or with They ought to learn not to mess with things that don't concern them