mass 1 W2 / mæs / 名词 #
1 large amount
a) [可数名词] a large amount of a substance which does not have a definite or regular shape :
The food had congealed into a sticky mass.
mass of
a high mass of rock
b) [可数名词,通常单数] a large amount or quantity of something
mass of
a huge mass of data
c) masses of something British English informal a large amount of something, or a lot of people or things :
Masses of books covered every surface in the room.
2 crowd [单数形式] a large crowd
mass of
There was a mass of people around the club entrance.
The road was blocked by a solid mass of protesters.
3 the masses all the ordinary people in society who do not have power or influence :
The trains provided cheap travel for the masses.
4 the mass of people/the population/workers etc most of the people in a group or society 同义词 the majority :
The war is strongly supported by the mass of the population.
5 church ceremony ( also Mass )
a) [可数和不可数名词] the main ceremony in some Christian churches, especially the Roman Catholic Church, which celebrates the last meal that Jesus Christ ate :
What time do you go to mass ?
morning/evening/midnight etc Mass
Will I see you at morning Mass?
say/celebrate Mass (= perform this ceremony as a priest ) → High Mass
b) [可数名词] a piece of music written to be performed at the ceremony of mass :
Mozart’s Mass in C minor
6 science [不可数名词] technical the amount of material in something :
The Sun makes up 99.9% of the mass of our solar system.
→ critical mass
mass 2 W3 adjective [仅用于名词前] #
involving or intended for a very large number of people :
a mass protest
weapons of mass destruction
the problem of mass unemployment
mass marketing/entertainment etc
a mass marketing campaign
Email has made mass mailings possible at the touch of a button.
mass 3 verb [不及物和及物动词] #
to come together, or to make people or things come together, in a large group SYN gather mass (something) behind/along/in etc something Western reports say that troops have been massing in the region since December. grey clouds massing behind the mountains Both countries have massed troops along the border.