World Book 1997 4.0

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<HTML> <HEAD><TITLE>DICTIONARY: mass - mass man</TITLE></HEAD> <BODY BGCOLOR="#ffffff"> <A HREF="a.dic">A</A> <A HREF="b.dic">B</A> <A HREF="c.dic">C</A> <A HREF="d.dic">D</A> <A HREF="e.dic">E</A> <A HREF="f.dic">F</A> <A HREF="g.dic">G</A> <A HREF="h.dic">H</A> <A HREF="i.dic">I</A> <A HREF="j.dic">J</A> <A HREF="k.dic">K</A> <A HREF="l.dic">L</A> <A HREF="m.dic">M</A> <A HREF="n.dic">N</A> <A HREF="o.dic">O</A> <A HREF="p.dic">P</A> <A HREF="q.dic">Q</A> <A HREF="r.dic">R</A> <A HREF="s.dic">S</A> <A HREF="t.dic">T</A> <A HREF="u.dic">U</A> <A HREF="v.dic">V</A> <A HREF="w.dic">W</A> <A HREF="x.dic">X</A> <A HREF="y.dic">Y</A> <A HREF="z.dic">Z</A> <A NAME="mass"> mass (1), noun, verb, adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD>noun 1. a lump; piece or amount of anything without any clear shape or size. Ex. a mass of dough. <DD> 2. a large quantity together; great amount or number. Ex. a mass of flowers, a mass of treasure, a mass of books. (SYN) aggregate, accumulation. <DD> 3. the greater part; main body; majority. Ex. The great mass of men consider themselves healthy. <DD> 4. bulk or size. Ex. the sheer mass of an iceberg. <DD> 5. the quantity of matter anything contains; the property of a physical body which gives it inertia. Mass is a constant not dependent on gravity and is obtained either by dividing the weight of the body by the acceleration of gravity or by comparing an unknown mass with a known mass, as on a balance. Ex. The mass of a piece of lead is not changed by melting it. Isotopes are atoms of the same element that differ in atomic weight, or mass (R. L. Thornton). <DD> 6. =mass number. <DD> 7. an expanse, as of color or shade, in a painting. <DD> 8. (Pharmacy.) thick, pasty preparation from which pills are made. <DD>v.t., v.i. to form or collect into a mass; assemble. Ex. It would look better to mass the peonies behind the roses than to mix them. The great bands of caribou ... mass up on the edge of the woods (W. Pike). (SYN) gather. <DD>adj. 1. of or by many people. Ex. a mass protest. <DD> 2. on a large scale. Ex. mass buying. <DD> 3. of or having to do with the masses. Ex. mass culture. expr. in the mass, as a whole; without distinguishing parts or individuals. Ex. It is difficult to speak accurately of mankind in the mass. expr. the masses, the common people; the working classes; the lower classes of society. Ex. The masses rebelled against the monarchy during the French Revolution. </DL> <A NAME="mass"> Mass or mass (2), noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> 1. the main religious service of worship in the Roman Catholic Church and in some other churches; Holy Eucharist as a sacrifice. The Mass consists of many prayers and ceremonies. Ex. The principal parts of the Mass are the Offertory, the Consecration, and the Communion (Fulton J. Sheen). <DD> 2. a particular celebration of the Eucharist. <DD> 3. music written for certain parts of it. Ex. Bach's Mass in B Minor. </DL> <A NAME="mass"> Mass.,<DL COMPACT><DD> Massachusetts. </DL> <A NAME="massa"> massa, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> an old southern Negro form of master. </DL> <A NAME="massachuset"> Massachuset, noun, pl. -set or -sets.<DL COMPACT><DD> 1. a member of a tribe of Algonkian Indians who formerly lived near Massachusetts Bay. <DD> 2. their Algonkian language. </DL> <A NAME="massachusetts"> Massachusetts, noun, pl. -setts. =Massachuset.</DL> <A NAME="massacre"> massacre, noun, verb, -cred, -cring.<DL COMPACT><DD>noun 1. wholesale, pitiless slaughter of people or animals. Ex. The hunters came from the East to massacre the buffalo of the plains, killing several million in a short time. (SYN) butchery, carnage. <DD> 2. (Figurative:) Ex. the specter of automation causing a wholesale massacre of jobs (Wall Street Journal). Highways ... are responsible for the massacre of the countryside (Ada Louise Huxtable). <DD>v.t. 1. to kill (many people or animals) needlessly or cruelly; slaughter in large numbers. Ex. The cavalry massacred many Indians. The savages had massacred many of the garrison after capitulation (Benjamin Franklin). (SYN) butcher. <DD> 2. (Figurative:) Ex. a big brawling demagogue, who massacred the king's English (Saturday Review). noun massacrer. </DL> <A NAME="massaction"> mass action,<DL COMPACT><DD> 1. (Psychology.) <DD> a. the theory that in many types of learning the cerebral cortex acts as a whole. <DD> b. the uncoordinated movements involving large parts of the body that is a characteristic of the fetus and the newborn. <DD> 2. (Sociology.) concerted action by a large group of people, especially in response to strong opposition. </DL> <A NAME="massage"> massage, noun, verb, -saged, -saging.<DL COMPACT><DD>noun 1. a rubbing, striking and kneading of the musclesand joints to make them work better and to increase the circulation of blood; rubdown. Ex. The person who gives the massage should ... have a knowledge of human anatomy (W. W. Bauer). <DD> 2. (Figurative:) Ex. A weak one will accept the kudos because his indifferent performance ... creates in him a real need for ego massage (New Yorker). <DD>v.t. 1. to give a massage to. Ex. Let me massage your back for you. <DD> 2. (Figurative:) Ex. "Sometimes in the past," he said, "this convention has seemed to me just to massage the prejudices of the delegates" (New York Times). noun massager. </DL> <A NAME="massageparlor"> massage parlor,<DL COMPACT><DD> 1. a place where massages are given. <DD> 2. a house of prostitution. Ex. Organized crime, says a Washington official, dominates the traditional porn industry, as well as massage parlors (Time). </DL> <A NAME="massasauga"> massasauga, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a very small rattlesnake of the southern United States. </DL> <A NAME="masscard"> Mass card,<DL COMPACT><DD> a card informing the family of a deceased person that the sender has arranged for a Mass or Masses to be offered in his memory. </DL> <A NAME="masscommunication"> mass communication,<DL COMPACT><DD> communication through the mass media. </DL> <A NAME="masscult"> masscult, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the culture created by the influence of mass media. </DL> <A NAME="massdefect"> mass defect,<DL COMPACT><DD> the difference between the atomic weight of an atom when determined by totaling the atomic weights of the neutrons and protons comprising the atom, and the atomic weight of the atom as a whole; packing effect. The mass defect is considered as a measure of the binding energy of the atom. Ex. The "mass defect" ... refers to the fact that the mass of the nucleus is slightly smaller than the sum of the masses of the particles combined in it (Scientific American). </DL> <A NAME="masse"> masse, noun, or masse shot,<DL COMPACT><DD> a stroke in billiards in which the cue ball is hit with the cue held almost vertically and with a sharp downward motion. </DL> <A NAME="massecuite"> massecuite, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> (in sugar making) the juice of the sugar cane, a mixture of molasses and sugar crystals, after concentration by boiling. </DL> <A NAME="massenergyequation"> mass-energy equation,<DL COMPACT><DD> an equation expressing the relation of mass and energy, formulated by Albert Einstein in 1905: E equals m times c-squared; Einstein equation. E = the energy in ergs; m = the mass in grams; c = the velocity of light in centimeters per second. Ex. What happens in the Bevatron confirms Einstein's famous mass-energy equation which says that energy can be converted into mass and mass into energy (New York Times). </DL> <A NAME="masseter"> masseter, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a muscle that raises the lower jaw in chewing. </DL> <A NAME="masseteric"> masseteric, adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> of or having to do with the masseter. </DL> <A NAME="masseur"> masseur, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a man whose work is massaging people. </DL> <A NAME="masseuse"> masseuse, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a woman whose work is massaging people. </DL> <A NAME="massextinction"> mass extinction,<DL COMPACT><DD> the destruction of a whole species by forces of nature. Ex. Scientific skeptics hold that natural causes, like volcanoes or slow climate change, are mainly responsible for the five mass extinctions revealed in the geologic record (New York Times). </DL> <A NAME="massicot"> massicot, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a yellow powder, an unfused monoxide of lead, used as a pigment and drier. </DL> <A NAME="massif"> massif, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> 1. the main part of a mountain range, surrounded by valleys. Ex. The Rocky massif was already splotched with golden aspens (Time). <DD> 2. a large block of the earth's crust shifted upward or downward as a unit and bounded by faults. </DL> <A NAME="massive"> massive, adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> 1. big and heavy; large and solid; huge. Ex. a massive rock, a massive building, a massive wrestler. (SYN) weighty, ponderous, bulky. <DD> 2. giving the impression of being large and broad. Ex. a massive forehead. <DD> 3. (Figurative.) imposing; impressive. Ex. Beethoven's Ninth Symphony is a massive work. <DD> 4. in or by great numbers; broad in scope; extensive. Ex. a massive assault, massive retaliation. <DD> 5. (of gold, silver, or plate) solid rather than hollow. Ex. a chain of massive gold (Scott). <DD> 6a. affecting a large area of bodily tissue. Ex. a massive hemorrhage. <DD> b. much larger or more than usual. Ex. a massive dose. <DD> 7. (Mineralogy.) not definitely crystalline. <DD> 8. (Geology.) without definite structural divisions. adv. massively. noun massiveness. </DL> <A NAME="massivelyparallel"> massively parallel,<DL COMPACT><DD> of or having many computer chips that simultaneously perform calculations related to a particular problem. Ex. Massively parallel processing ... will team hundreds or thousands of independent processors ... to solve problems far too imposing for even the most powerful computers today (John Markoff). </DL> <A NAME="massivity"> massivity, noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the fact or condition of being massive. </DL> <A NAME="massless"> massless, adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> lacking mass; having a mass of zero. Ex. The neutrino is a massless particle. </DL> <A NAME="massman"> mass man,<DL COMPACT><DD> man conceived not as an individual but as representing the anonymous multitudes of people in a mass society. </DL> <A HREF="massmedi.dic">NEXT</A>