mess 1 S2 / mes / 名词 #

1 dirty/untidy [单数形式，不可数] if there is a mess somewhere or a place is a mess, things there are dirty or not neatly arranged :

What a mess!

Sorry – the place is a bit of a mess .

When I got home, the house was a complete mess .

in a mess British English :

The burglars left the house in an awful mess.

You can make cookies if you promise not to make a mess in the kitchen.

clear/clean up the mess

Whoever is responsible for this mess can clear it up immediately!

She hates mess.

2 problems/difficulties [单数形式，不可数] a situation in which there are a lot of problems and difficulties, especially as a result of mistakes or carelessness :

My life’s such a mess .

in a mess

The economy is in a terrible mess.

You got us into this mess , Terry. You can get us out of it.

All she could do was pray that, somehow, she might be able to sort out the mess she had got herself into.

3 make a mess of (doing) something to do something badly :

I feel I’ve made a real mess of my marriage.

Many people make a mess of handling money.

4 person be a mess informal if someone is a mess, they look dirty and untidy, or are in a bad emotional state

5 a mess of something American English informal a lot of something :

a mess of fresh fish

6 army/navy [可数名词] a room in which members of the army, navy etc eat and drink together :

We had lunch in the officers’ mess .

7 waste substance [可数和不可数名词] British English informal solid waste from an animal :

The dog’s made a mess on the carpet.

mess 2 S2 verb #

1 [及物动词] to make something look untidy or dirty :
He scratched his head and messed his hair even more. 2 [不及物和及物动词] British English if an animal or person messes something, they use the wrong place as a toilet :
He was so drunk that he messed the bed. 3 no messing spoken informal used to say that something was done very easily :
Williams won very comfortably, no messing. 4 [不及物动词] to have meals in a room where members of the army, navy etc eat together

mess around ( also mess about British English ) phrasal verb informal 1 to spend time lazily, doing things slowly and in a way that is not planned :
He spent his vacation messing around on the farm. 2 to behave in a silly way when you should be paying attention or doing something sensible SYN fool around :
Stop messing around and get ready for school. 3 mess somebody around to cause a lot of problems for someone, especially by changing your mind often and not being completely honest :
Don’t mess me around – I want the money you promised me.

mess around with somebody/something ( also mess about with somebody/something British English ) phrasal verb informal 1 to have a sexual relationship with someone that you should not have a sexual relationship with :
She’d been messing around with another man. 2 to spend time playing with something, repairing it etc :
Dave likes messing around with old cars. 3 to use something and make annoying changes to it :
Who’s been messing around with my camera?

mess up phrasal verb informal 1 mess something ↔ up to spoil or ruin something, especially something important or something that has been carefully planned :
It took me ages to get this right – I don’t want some idiot to mess it up. She felt she’d messed up her whole life. 2 mess something ↔ up to make something dirty or untidy :
Who messed up the kitchen? 3 to make a mistake and do something badly :
I think I messed up on the last question. mess something ↔ up It doesn’t matter if you mess it up, you can always try again. 4 mess somebody ↔ up to make someone have emotional or mental problems :
I messed up my kids. 5 mess somebody ↔ up American English informal to hurt someone especially by hitting them

mess with somebody/something phrasal verb informal 1 to get involved with someone or something that may cause problems or be dangerous :
Don’t mess with drugs. 2 to deceive someone or cause trouble for them :
You mess with me, and I’ll rip your head off. 3 to try changing something, especially in a way that damages or spoils it