Mass
mass
/mas/
Mass means the amount of matter in an object, a large quantity or group, or a religious worship service.
Physics and Science
- Amount of Matter: The measure of how much “stuff” or material makes up a physical object.
- Inertia: An object’s resistance to a change in its motion or speed when a force is applied.
- Unit: Measured in kilograms (kg) or grams (g).
- Mass vs. Weight: Mass stays the same everywhere in the universe, while weight changes depending on gravity (such as on the Moon). You can explore more through the Wikipedia entry on Mass.
Everyday Language and Size
- Large Amount: A big lump, bulk, or pile of something (e.g., a mass of rock).
- Adjective (Mass-scale): Involving or affecting many people at the same time, like a “mass audience” or “mass production”.
- The Masses: A term for the general or common people in a society.
Religion (Liturgy)
- Church Service: A solemn religious ceremony and celebration of the Eucharist, primarily in the Roman Catholic, Anglican, and Lutheran churches.
- Music: A musical composition written to accompany parts of this liturgical service. You can read more official definitions at Merriam-Webster’s Mass Definition.
The phrase
The phrase “a mass of people” refers to a large, dense, and often unorganized gathering or collection of individuals acting as a single, collective group.
Depending on the context, it can describe a physical crowd or the general population of a society.
Key Definitions & Meanings
- A Large Gathering: A dense physical crowd, throng, or multitude of individuals congregated in one place.
- The Majority / The General Public: When referred to as “the mass of people” or “the masses,” it signifies the ordinary, common people who form the largest segment of a society, as distinguished from a small elite or governing class.
Common Synonyms
- Crowd
- Throng
- Multitude
- The general public
- The majority
Usage Examples
- “A mass of people blocked the main street during the festival.”
- “Political campaigns often try to win the support of the mass of people.”
We use only ‘Mass’ instead of the phtase
‘the masses’ or ‘the mass of people’.
phrase meaning:
the ordinary people who form the largest group in a society:
