mass
/mæs/noun, verb, adjective
mass is spelled M-A-S-S: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 74 times per million words in written English, the 1,427th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, mass means “A quantity of matter cohering so as to make one body, or an aggregation of particles or things which collectively make one body or quantity, usually…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of mass is masses.
How many letters and syllables are in mass?
| Letters | 4: M-A-S-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 74 times per million words; the 1,427th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search | |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is mass?
Mass appears 74 times per million words in written English, the 1,427th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce mass?
- US /mæs/
- British /mas/
- /mɛs/
As a noun (“The Eucharist, now especially in Roman Catholicism”): /mæs/, /mæs/, /mɑːs/.
Mass has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-mass.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with mass
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Also written: masse.
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with mass?
10 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as mass from its last stressed vowel (/æs/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of mass
- masses plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- massing participle, present
- massed participle, past
- masser comparative
- massest superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does mass mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A quantity of matter cohering so as to make one body, or an aggregation of particles or things which collectively make one body or quantity, usually of considerable size.
- 2
obsoletePrecious metal, especially gold or silver.
- 3
A measure of the inertia of a mass of matter, one of four fundamental properties of matter. SI unit of mass: kilogram.
- 4
A medicinal substance made into a cohesive, homogeneous lump, of consistency suitable for making pills.
blue mass
- 5
A palpable or visible abnormal globular structure.
Near-synonym: lump
- 6
Excess body mass, especially in the form of muscle hypertrophy.
- 7
A large quantity; a sum.
- 8
Bulk; magnitude; body; size.
- 9
The Eucharist, now especially in Roman Catholicism.
- 10
Celebration of the Eucharist.
- 11
The main kind of church service, in some denominations.
She went to mass every Sunday for many years, and when she retired, she took to going on some weekdays, too.
- 12
The sacrament of the Eucharist.
- 13
A musical setting of parts of the mass.
verb
- 1
To form or collect into a mass; to form into a collective body; to assemble.
- 2
obsoleteTo celebrate mass.
adjective
- 1
Involving a mass of things; concerning a large quantity or number.
There is evidence of mass extinctions in the distant past.
- 2
Involving a mass of people; of, for, or by the masses.
Mass unemployment resulted from the financial collapse.
noun
- 1
The principal liturgical service of the Church, encompassing both a scripture service (Liturgy of the Word) and a eucharistic service (Liturgy of the Eucharist), which includes the consecration and oblation (offering) of the host and wine.
- 2
A similar ceremony offered by a number of Christian churches.
- 3
A musical composition set to portions, or all, of the Mass.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Mass in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | Masse , Messe |
| Portuguese | massa , eucaristia , monte , grosso , massas , massivo |
| Spanish | masa, pella , másico , multitudinario, masivo, de masa |
| French | messe , masse |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does mass come from?
In late Middle English (circa 1400) as masse in the sense of "lump, quantity of matter", from Anglo-Norman masse, in Old French attested from the 11th century, via late Latin massa (“lump, dough”), from Ancient Greek μᾶζα (mâza, “barley-cake, lump (of dough)”). The Greek noun may be derived from the verb μάσσω (mássō, “to knead”), ultimately from a Proto-Indo-European *maǵ- (“to oil, knead”), although this is uncertain. Doublet of masa. The sense of "a large number or quantity" arises circa 1580.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).