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Noun: mess  mes
  1. A state of confusion and disorderliness
    "the house was a mess";
    - messiness, muss [N. Amer, informal], mussiness
     
  2. [informal] The quality of being almost beyond one's ability to deal with and requiring a great effort to achieve a positive result
    - difficulty, difficultness, fix [informal], hole [informal], jam [informal], muddle [informal], pickle [informal], kettle of fish [informal]
     
  3. Soft semiliquid food
    "a mess of porridge"
     
  4. A meal eaten in a mess hall by service personnel
     
  5. (military) a (large) military dining room where service personnel eat or relax
    - mess hall
     
  6. (often followed by 'of') a large number, amount or extent
    "a mess of letters";
    - batch, deal, flock, good deal, great deal, hatful, heap, lot, mass, mickle [archaic], mint, mountain, muckle, passel [US], peck, pile [informal], plenty, pot, quite a little, raft, sight, slew, spate, stack, tidy sum, wad, bunch [informal]
Verb: mess  mes
  1. (military) eat in a mess hall
     
  2. Make a mess of or create disorder in
    "He messed up his room";
    - mess up

Derived forms: messed, messes, messing

See also: difficult, hard

Type of: aliment, alimentation, dining room, dining-room, disarray, disorder, disorderliness, eat, large indefinite amount, large indefinite quantity, meal, nourishment, nutriment, nutrition, quality, repast, sustenance, victuals

Encyclopedia: Mess