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# mess

«mess» in Mova's school dictionary: **a place or things that are untidy or dirty, like a messy…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

noun (a mess, messes; mess, uncountable); verb (mess, messes, messed, messing — mess up, mess about/around, mess with)

### meaning for a pupil

1) A mess is a place or things that are untidy or dirty, like a messy bedroom. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mess/#m1)

2) A mess is also a bad or confusing situation with problems. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mess/#m2)

3) To mess something up means to make it untidy or to spoil it or get it wrong. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mess/#m3)

4) To mess about or mess around means to play or behave in a silly way instead of working. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mess/#m4)

5) To mess with something means to touch or change it when you should not. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mess/#m5)

6) A mess is also a room where soldiers or sailors eat, and an animal's droppings can be called mess. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mess/#m6)

### sense in the lessons

Everyday life: tidying up a mess, cleaning up a spill, «Who made this mess?». In class: «stop messing about», «I messed up my sum, so I'll start again» — mistakes are normal and can be fixed. Safety: «Don't mess with matches, plugs or medicines». Phrases: «make a mess», «clean up the mess», «in a mess», «what a mess», «mess up», «mess about/around», «mess with».

### examples

- Your bedroom is a mess! [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mess/#x1)
- Who made this mess on the kitchen floor? [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mess/#x2)
- I spilt paint and made a big mess. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mess/#x3)
- Please clean up your mess before lunch. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mess/#x4)
- I messed up the first question, so I rubbed it out. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mess/#x5)
- Stop messing about and finish your work. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mess/#x6)
- Don't mess with the oven knobs. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mess/#x7)
- The game was a mess after it started to rain. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mess/#x8)
- The puppy left a mess on the carpet. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mess/#x9)
- "Woe is me," thinks the Pope; "here's a mess!" [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mess/#x10)

### note

As untidiness it can be countable («a mess») or uncountable («some mess»). Adjective: «messy». «Mess up» is informal; in polite writing use «spoil» or «get wrong». «Messing about» (UK) = «messing around» (US). A mistake is not the end; you can fix a mess.

### In the corpora

- [Feeding huge crowds of pigeons with bread makes too many pigeons, and birds packed in crowds spread mess and illness more easily.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/221-pigeons-head-bobbing-homing-and-city-cliffs/14/)
- ["Made a mess" means a pet went to the toilet indoors.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/18-pets-and-money/8/)
- [Before going home you help tidy up the mess you made.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/129-video-calls-and-visiting-friends/11/)
- [You help tidy up any mess you made before you go home.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/222-phones-visits-presents-and-thank-you-notes/8/)
- [If you made a mess while playing at someone's house, help tidy up before you go home.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/297-calls-visits-thank-yous-and-quiet-places/13/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «mess» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mess/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.