mess

(redirected from messing)
Also found in: Thesaurus, Medical, Idioms.

mess

(mĕs)

a. A cluttered, untidy, usually dirty place or condition: The kitchen was a mess.

b. Something that is disorderly or dirty, as a accumulation or heap: Who left the mess on the kitchen floor?

a. A confused, troubling, or embarrassing condition or situation: With divorce and bankruptcy proceedings pending, his personal life was in a mess.

b. One that is in such a condition: They made a mess of their marriage. Her boyfriend is a real mess.

a. An amount of food, as for a meal, course, or dish: cooked up a mess of fish.

b. A serving of soft, semiliquid food: a mess of porridge.

a. A group of people, usually soldiers or sailors, who regularly eat meals together.

b. Food or a meal served to such a group: took mess with the enlistees.

c. A mess hall.

v. messed, mess·ing, mess·es

v.tr.

To make disorderly or dirty: The wind has messed your hair. The puppy messed the floor.

v.intr.

1. To cause or make a mess.

2. To intrude; interfere: messing in the neighbors' affairs.

3. To take a meal in a military mess.

Phrasal Verbs:

mess around (or about)

1. To pass time aimlessly or frivolously.

2. To associate casually or playfully: liked to mess around with pals on days off.

3. To be sexually unfaithful.

mess up

1. To botch; bungle: messed up the entire project.

2. To make a mistake, especially from nervousness or confusion: messed up and dropped the ball.

3. Slang To beat up; manhandle: got messed up in a brawl.

4. To cause to be confused or troubled: The divorce really messed him up.

mess with

1. To use or handle something carelessly; fiddle: messed with the remote until he broke it.

2. To fight or get into conflict with: I wouldn't mess with him—he knows judo.

3. To tease or play a joke on: Don't let that remark bother you—she's just messing with you.

[Middle English mes, course of a meal, food, group of people eating together, from Old French, from Late Latin missus, from Latin, past participle of mittere, to place.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

mess

(mɛs)

1. a state of confusion or untidiness, esp if dirty or unpleasant: the house was in a mess.

2. a chaotic or troublesome state of affairs; muddle: his life was a mess.

3. informal a dirty or untidy person or thing

4. (Cookery) archaic a portion of food, esp soft or semiliquid food

5. (Military) a place where service personnel eat or take recreation: an officers' mess.

6. (Military) a group of people, usually servicemen, who eat together

7. (Military) the meal so taken

8. mess of pottage a material gain involving the sacrifice of a higher value

9. (often foll by: up) to muddle or dirty

10. (intr) to make a mess

11. (often foll by: with) to interfere; meddle

12. (Military) (intr; often foll by with or together) military to group together, esp for eating

[C13: from Old French mes dish of food, from Late Latin missus course (at table), from Latin mittere to send forth, set out]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

mess

(mɛs)

n.

1. a dirty or untidy condition.

2. a person or thing that is dirty, untidy, or disordered.

3. a state of confusion.

4. an unpleasant or difficult situation.

5. a dirty or untidy mass: a mess of papers.

6. a group regularly taking their meals together.

7. the meal so taken.

8. mess hall.

9. a quantity of food sufficient for a dish or a single occasion.

10. sloppy or unappetizing food.

11. a dish or quantity of soft or liquid food.

12. a person whose life, mental state, or affairs are in a state of confusion.

v.t.

13. to make dirty or untidy (often fol. by up): Don't mess up the room.

14. to make a mess or muddle of (affairs, responsibilities, etc.) (often fol. by up).

v.i.

15. to make a mess.

16. to eat in company, esp. as a member of a mess.

17. mess around or about,

a. to busy oneself aimlessly; waste time.

b. to involve oneself, esp. for reprehensible purposes: to mess around with gamblers.

c. to have sexual affairs; philander.

18. mess in or with, to intervene officiously; meddle.

19. mess up,

a. to perform poorly; produce errors or confusion.

b. to treat roughly; beat up.

[1250–1300; Middle English mes < Old French: a course at a meal < Late Latin missus what is sent (i.e., put on the table), n. use of past participle of Latin mittere to send]

mess

addled, muddled - Addled refers to mental confusion; muddled is anything confused or in a mess.
dog's breakfast, dog's dinner - Meaning a mess or muddle, a dog's breakfast or dog's dinner originally may have referred to a cooking mishap with results fit only for a dog's consumption.
higgledy-piggledy - Probably formed from pig and the animal's suggestions of mess and disorder.
kettle of fish - Meaning "mess, muddle," the phrase is from "a pretty kettle of fish," a corruption of "kiddle of fish," in which a kiddle is a basket set in the opening of a weir for catching fish.

Mess

a confused mixture; a group of four; a group of people who regularly eat together; the quantity of milk at one milking; a quantity of food; a haul of fish. Also, officers’ mess, sergeants’ mess, etc.

mess

Past participle: messed
Gerund: messing

Imperative
mess
mess

Present
I mess
you mess
he/she/it messes
we mess
you mess
they mess

Preterite
I messed
you messed
he/she/it messed
we messed
you messed
they messed

Present Continuous
I am messing
you are messing
he/she/it is messing
we are messing
you are messing
they are messing

Present Perfect
I have messed
you have messed
he/she/it has messed
we have messed
you have messed
they have messed

Past Continuous
I was messing
you were messing
he/she/it was messing
we were messing
you were messing
they were messing

Past Perfect
I had messed
you had messed
he/she/it had messed
we had messed
you had messed
they had messed

Future
I will mess
you will mess
he/she/it will mess
we will mess
you will mess
they will mess

Future Perfect
I will have messed
you will have messed
he/she/it will have messed
we will have messed
you will have messed
they will have messed

Future Continuous
I will be messing
you will be messing
he/she/it will be messing
we will be messing
you will be messing
they will be messing

Present Perfect Continuous
I have been messing
you have been messing
he/she/it has been messing
we have been messing
you have been messing
they have been messing

Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been messing
you will have been messing
he/she/it will have been messing
we will have been messing
you will have been messing
they will have been messing

Past Perfect Continuous
I had been messing
you had been messing
he/she/it had been messing
we had been messing
you had been messing
they had been messing

Conditional
I would mess
you would mess
he/she/it would mess
we would mess
you would mess
they would mess

Past Conditional
I would have messed
you would have messed
he/she/it would have messed
we would have messed
you would have messed
they would have messed

Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Switch to new thesaurus

Noun	1.	mess - a state of confusion and disorderliness; "the house was a mess"; "she smoothed the mussiness of the bed" messiness, muss, mussiness disorderliness, disorder - a condition in which things are not in their expected places; "the files are in complete disorder"
	2.	mess - informal terms for a difficult situation; "he got into a terrible fix"; "he made a muddle of his marriage" fix, kettle of fish, muddle, pickle, jam, hole difficulty - a condition or state of affairs almost beyond one's ability to deal with and requiring great effort to bear or overcome; "grappling with financial difficulties" dog's breakfast, dog's dinner - a poor job; a mess; "they made a real dog's breakfast of that job"
	3.	mess - soft semiliquid food; "a mess of porridge" aliment, alimentation, nourishment, nutriment, sustenance, victuals, nutrition - a source of materials to nourish the body
	4.	mess - a meal eaten in a mess hall by service personnel meal, repast - the food served and eaten at one time
	5.	mess - a (large) military dining room where service personnel eat or relax mess hall dining room, dining-room - a room used for dining officer's mess - a mess for the exclusive use of officers training table - planned meals for athletes in training (usually served in a mess hall) armed forces, armed services, military, military machine, war machine - the military forces of a nation; "their military is the largest in the region"; "the military machine is the same one we faced in 1991 but now it is weaker"
	6.	mess - (often followed by `of') a large number or amount or extent; "a batch of letters"; "a deal of trouble"; "a lot of money"; "he made a mint on the stock market"; "see the rest of the winners in our huge passel of photos"; "it must have cost plenty"; "a slew of journalists"; "a wad of money" good deal, great deal, hatful, lot, muckle, passel, peck, mickle, mint, quite a little, slew, spate, tidy sum, wad, stack, raft, mountain, pile, plenty, mass, batch, heap, deal, flock, pot, sight large indefinite amount, large indefinite quantity - an indefinite quantity that is above the average in size or magnitude deluge, flood, inundation, torrent - an overwhelming number or amount; "a flood of requests"; "a torrent of abuse" haymow - a mass of hay piled up in a barn for preservation
Verb	1.	mess - eat in a mess hall armed forces, armed services, military, military machine, war machine - the military forces of a nation; "their military is the largest in the region"; "the military machine is the same one we faced in 1991 but now it is weaker" eat - eat a meal; take a meal; "We did not eat until 10 P.M. because there were so many phone calls"; "I didn't eat yet, so I gladly accept your invitation"
	2.	mess - make a mess of or create disorder in; "He messed up his room" mess up disarray, disorder - bring disorder to

mess

noun

1. untidiness, disorder, confusion, chaos, turmoil, litter, clutter, disarray, jumble, disorganization, grot (slang), dirtiness Linda can't stand mess.

2. shambles, botch, hash, cock-up (Brit. slang), state, balls-up (taboo slang), fuck-up (offensive taboo slang), bodge (informal), pig's breakfast (informal) I've made such a mess of my life.

3. difficulty, dilemma, plight, spot (informal), hole (informal), fix (informal), jam (informal), hot water (informal), stew (informal), mix-up, muddle, pickle (informal), uphill (S. African), predicament, deep water, perplexity, tight spot, imbroglio, fine kettle of fish (informal) I've got myself into a bit of a mess.

mess about or around

1. potter about, dabble, amuse yourself, footle (informal), fool about or around, muck about or around (informal), piss about or around (taboo slang), play about or around We were just messing around playing with paint. Stop messing about and get on with your work.

2. meddle, play, interfere, toy, fiddle (informal), tamper, tinker, trifle, fool about or around, piss about or around (taboo slang) I'd like to know who's been messing about with the pram.

mess something up

1. botch, bungle, make a hash of (informal), make a nonsense of, make a pig's ear of (informal), cock something up (Brit. slang), fuck something up (offensive taboo slang), muck something up (Brit. slang), muddle something up If I messed it up, I would probably be fired.

2. dirty, foul, litter, pollute, clutter, besmirch, disarrange, befoul, dishevel I hope they haven't messed up your house.

mess with something or someone interfere, play, fiddle (informal), tamper, tinker, meddle You are messing with people's religion and they don't like that.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

mess

noun

1. A group of things gathered haphazardly:

agglomeration, bank, cumulus, drift, heap, hill, mass, mound, mountain, pile, shock, stack, tumble.

2. A lack of order or regular arrangement:

chaos, clutter, confusedness, confusion, derangement, disarrangement, disarray, disorder, disorderedness, disorderliness, disorganization, jumble, mix-up, muddle, muss, scramble, topsy-turviness, tumble.

Slang: snafu.

3. A ruinous state of disorder:

botch, foul-up, muddle, shambles.

Informal: hash.

Slang: screwup, snafu.

4. An unsightly object:

monstrosity, ugliness.

Informal: fright, sight, ugly.

5. An individual quantity of food:

helping, portion, serving.

verb

1. To handle something idly, ignorantly, or destructively:

fiddle, fool, meddle, tamper, tinker.

Informal: monkey.

2. To put (the hair or clothes) into a state of disarray.Also used with up:

disarrange, dishevel, disorder, muss (up), rumple, tousle.

phrasal verb
mess around

1. Informal. To waste time by engaging in aimless activity:

doodle, fool, putter.

Informal: fool around.

2. Informal. To be nervously or uselessly active:

bustle, fuss, putter.

3. Informal. To be sexually unfaithful to another:

philander, womanize.

Informal: cheat, fool around, play around.

phrasal verb
mess up

1. To harm irreparably through inept handling; make a mess:

ball up, blunder, boggle, botch, bungle, foul up, fumble, gum up, mishandle, mismanage, muddle, muff, spoil.

Informal: bollix up, muck up.

Slang: blow, goof up, louse up, screw up, snafu.

Idiom: make a muck of.

2. To put into total disorder:

ball up, confuse, disorder, jumble, muddle, scramble, snarl.

Slang: snafu.

Idiom: play havoc with.

3. To put out of proper order:

derange, disarrange, disarray, disorder, disorganize, disrupt, disturb, jumble, mix up, muddle, tumble, unsettle, upset.

4. Slang. To be rough or brutal with:

knock about (or around), manhandle, rough (up), slap around.

Translations

تَتَدَخَّلفَوْضىفَوْضَى

nepořádekšpínavrtat se v něčemzmatekbabrat se s něčím

rodgriserimesse

Durcheinander Messe Schlamassel Schlamperei herumpfuschen

μπέρδεμα

lío desorden enredo interferir desastre

sotku

désordre ébouriffer fatras fouillis gâchis

nered

piszkál

blanda sér í ; fikta ídrasl; óreiîa

disordine fare confusione guai imbrogliare maltrattare

散乱

엉망인 상태

blogai padarytikas netvarkingaskas suteptaskišti nagus priekuistis

juceklisnekārtībanetīrībanoņemties, ķēpāties

puinhoop rotzooi zootje dienstgebedsdienst

fikle med rot

bałagan

bagunça mexer trapalhada

бардак беспорядок каша ковыряться погром

neredrazmetatiskazitiumazati

mässaröra

สภาพรกรุงรัง

dağınıklık karışıklık kirkurcalamakoynamak

bừa bãi

混乱摆弄

mess

[mes]

A. N

1. (untidy) → desorden m; (dirty) → porquería f; (= shambles) → desastre m, desbarajuste m; (= predicament) → lío m, follón m; (= bad job) → chapuza f, desastre m
excuse the mess → perdone el desorden
to be a mess this place is a mess → esta casa es un desastre
her hair is a mess → tiene el pelo hecho un desastre
this page is a mess, rewrite it → esta página es una chapuza or un desastre, vuélvela a escribir
the economy is a mess → la economía es un desastre
her life is a mess → su vida es un desastre or un desbarajuste
you can clean that mess up → ya puedes ir limpiando esta pena
to be in a mess the house was in a mess → la casa estaba hecha un desastre
the toys were in a mess → había un desorden de juguetes
to leave things in a mess → dejarlo todo desordenado or hecho un desastre
the economy is in a mess → la economía es un desastre
her life is in a mess → su vida es un desastre or un desbarajuste
his face was in a bit of a mess (after fight, accident) → tenía la cara que daba pena
we're in a mess → estamos metidos en un lío or un follón
to get (o.s.) into a mess (fig) → meterse en un lío or un follón
a fine or nice mess you got us into! → ¡en menudo lío or follón nos has metido!
you look (such) a mess → vas hecho un desastre
look at the mess you've made of this room → mira cómo has dejado esta habitación de desordenada
to make a mess look what a mess you've made! → ¡mira cómo lo has puesto todo!
he made a mess of his audition → la audición le fue fatal
I've made such a mess of my life → he arruinado or echado a perder mi vida
you've made a real mess of things haven't you? → has liado bien las cosas ¿no crees?

2. (euph) (= excrement) → caca f
dog mess → caca f de perro
the cat's made a mess in the kitchen → el gato ha hecho caca en la cocina

3. (Mil) → comedor m
officers' mess → comedor m de oficiales

B. VI

1. (Mil) (= eat) → hacer rancho, comer (juntos)

2. no messing! → ¡sin bromas!, ¡nada de tonterías!
no messing? → ¿en serio?

3. (= soil o.s.) → hacerse caca encima

C. VT to mess one's pants/trousers → hacerse caca encima

D. CPD mess deck N → sollado m
mess hall N → comedor m
a mess of pottage N (Bible) → un plato de lentejas
mess tin N → plato m de campaña

mess about mess around

A. VT + ADV (Brit) all they do is mess me about, they won't give me a straight answer → no hacen más que jugar conmigo, no me dan una respuesta concreta
they were messing me about so much over the dates that I told them to forget it → me querían cambiar las fechas tantas veces que les dije que se olvidaran del asunto

B. VI + ADV (= play the fool) → hacer tonterías; (= do nothing in particular) → pasar el rato, gandulear; (= waste time) → perder el tiempo
"what are you doing?" - "just messing about" → -¿qué haces? -nada, pasando el rato
we messed about in Paris for two days → pasamos dos días en París haciendo esto y lo otro
he enjoys messing about in boats → le gusta entretenerse con las barcas
she's not one to mess about, she gets on with the job → no es de las que pierde el tiempo, saca el trabajo adelante
I don't want him messing about here → no le quiero fisgoneando por aquí
stop messing about! → ¡déjate de tonterías!
to mess about with sb he isn't the kind of guy you mess about with → no es de los que se deja enredar or tomar el pelo
he messed about with some lads from college for a while → salió con unos tíos de la universidad durante un tiempo
she'd been messing about with other men → había estado liada con otros hombres
to mess about with sth he was messing about with his watchstrap → estaba jugueteando con la correa del reloj
who's been messing about with the video? → ¿quién ha estado manoseando or toqueteando el vídeo?

mess up

A. VT + ADV

1. (= disarrange) [+ books, papers] → descolocar; [+ hair] → desarreglar; [+ room, house] → desordenar, desarreglar

2. (= dirty) → ensuciar

3. (= ruin) [+ plans, arrangements] → estropear, echar por tierra; [+ piece of work] → estropear

4. (US) (= beat up) → zurrar, dar una paliza a

B. VI + ADV → meter la pata

mess with VI + PREP

1. (= challenge, confront) → meterse con
if he ever messes with me again I'll kill him → si vuelve a meterse conmigo lo mato

2. (= interfere with) → interferir con
the system works well so don't mess with it → el sistema funciona bien así que no interfieras con él

3. (= get involved with) I used to mess with drugs → estaba metido en drogas

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

mess

[ˈmɛs] n

(= untidiness) → désordre m
Sorry about the mess! → Désolé pour le désordre!
I hate mess → Je déteste le désordre.
what a mess! (in house, room) → quel désordre!
to be in a mess [house, room] → être en désordre
My bedroom's usually in a mess → Ma chambre est le plus souvent en désordre.
Her hair was in a terrible mess → Ses cheveux étaient dans un désordre épouvantable.
to be a mess [house, room] → être un fouillis

(= bad situation) → gâchis m
to be a mess [life, situation] → être un gâchis
My life is such a mess → Ma vie est un tel gâchis.
to be in a mess [company, economy] → être dans un sale état
The economy is now in a mess → L'économie est maintenant dans un sale état.; [person] → être dans le pétrin
to get o.s. in a mess → se mettre dans le pétrin
to sort out the mess → mettre bon ordre à tout cela
They could have legislated last year to sort out the mess → Ils auraient pu légiférer l'année dernière pour mettre bon ordre à tout cela.
to make a mess of sth → mettre la pagaille dans qch
the mess they have made of their public finances → la pagaille qu'ils ont mise dans leurs finances publiques

(= spillage) → dégâts mpl
to mop up the mess → nettoyer les dégâts

(MILITARY) → mess m

mess around

(= play around) → faire l'imbécile or faire les imbéciles

(= interfere) to mess around with sth → tripoter qch
Stop messing around with my computer! → Arrête de tripoter mon ordinateur!
I'd like to know who's been messing around with the computer → J'aimerais bien savoir qui a été tripoter l'ordinateur.
Don't mess around with my things!
BUT Ne touche pas à mes affaires!.

to be messing around (= joking) → déconner
I'm always joking and messing around → Je suis toujours en train de plaisanter et de déconner.

vt sep (= treat badly) to mess sb around → faire tourner qn en bourrique
I think they've been messed around far too much already → Je trouve qu'on les a déjà fait bien trop tourner en bourrique.

mess about

(British)

(= play around) → faire l'imbécile or faire les imbéciles
Stop messing about and do some work → Arrête de faire l'imbécile et mets-toi au travail.

(= interfere) to mess about with sth → tripoter qch
Stop messing about with my computer! → Arrête de tripoter mon ordinateur!
Don't mess about with my things!
BUT Ne touche pas à mes affaires!.

to be messing about (= joking) → déconner

vt sep
to mess sb about (= treat badly) → faire tourner qn en bourrique
I think they've been messed about far too much already → Je trouve qu'on les a déjà fait bien trop tourner en bourrique.

mess up

vt sep

(= make dirty) [+ place, thing] → salir, dégueulasser
I was used to him messing up the kitchen → J'étais habitué à ce qu'il me dégueulasse la cuisine.

(= make untidy) → mettre la pagaille dans
My little brother has messed up my cassettes → Mon petit frère a mis la pagaille dans mes cassettes.
Don't go messing up my papers → Ne va pas mettre la pagaille dans mes papiers.

(= ruin) [+ arrangement, plan] → fiche en l'air , ficher en l'air ; [+ life, career] → fiche en l'air , ficher en l'air
That will mess up the whole plan → Cela va fiche or ficher en l'air tout le projet.
He had already messed up one career → Il avait déjà fichu en l'air une carrière.
to mess things up → tout fiche en l'air
When politicians mess things up → Lorsque les politicien fichent tout en l'air ...

vi → merder
If I messed up, I would probably be fired → Si je merdais, j'allais probablement être viré.

mess with

vt fus (= interfere with) [+ thing, person] → blaguer avec
You are messing with people's religion and they don't like that → Tu blagues avec la religion des gens et ils n'aiment pas ça.

mess

mess jacket

n → Affenjäckchen nt (inf)

mess kit

(Brit) Uniform für gesellschaftliche Anlässe

(US) → Essgeschirr nt

messmate

n they were messs → sie waren Kameraden bei der Armee

mess

→ Durcheinander nt; (dirty) → Schweinerei f; to be (in) a mess → unordentlich sein, in einem fürchterlichen Zustand sein; (= disorganized) → ein einziges Durcheinander sein; (fig: one’s life, marriage, career etc) → verkorkst sein (inf); to be a mess (piece of work) → eine Schweinerei sein (inf); (= disorganized) → ein einziges or heilloses Durcheinander sein; (person) (in appearance) → unordentlich aussehen; (psychologically) → verkorkst sein (inf); to look a mess (person) → unmöglich aussehen; (= untidy also) → schlampig or unordentlich aussehen; (= dirty also) → völlig verdreckt sein; (room, piece of work) → unordentlich or schlimm aussehen; to make a mess (= be untidy) → Unordnung machen; (= be dirty) → eine Schweinerei machen (inf); to make a mess of something (= make untidy) → etw in Unordnung bringen, etw durcheinanderbringen; (= make dirty) → etw verdrecken; (= bungle, botch) → etw verpfuschen, bei etw Mist bauen (inf); of one’s life → etw verkorksen (inf) → or verpfuschen; I made a mess of sewing it on → ich habe beim Annähen Mist gebaut (inf); you’ve really made a mess of things → du hast alles total vermasselt (inf); a fine mess you’ve made of that → da hast du was Schönes angerichtet; what a mess! → wie sieht das denn aus!, das sieht ja vielleicht aus!; (fig) → ein schöner Schlamassel! (inf); I’m not tidying up your mess → ich räume nicht für dich auf; a mess of beer cans/pots and pans → ein Haufen Bierdosen/Töpfe und Pfannen

(= awkward predicament) → Schwierigkeiten pl, → Schlamassel m (inf); cheating got him into a mess → durch seine Mogelei ist er in ziemliche Schwierigkeiten geraten; he got into a mess with the police → er hat Ärger mit der Polizei bekommen

(euph: = excreta) → Dreck m; the cat/baby has made a mess on the carpet → die Katze/das Baby hat auf den Teppich gemacht

vi = mess about VI c, d

mess

² (Mil)

n → Kasino nt, (Aus also) → Casino nt; (on ships) → Messe f; (= food) → Essen nt

vi → essen, das Essen einnehmen

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

mess

[mɛs] n

a. (confusion of objects) → disordine m, confusione f; (dirt) → sporcizia; (awkward predicament) → pasticcio
you look a mess! → guarda in che stato sei!
to be (in) a mess (house, room) → essere in disordine, essere molto sporco/a (fig) (marriage, life) → essere un caos or un disastro
to make a mess → fare un gran disordine dappertutto, sporcare dappertutto
the dog has made a mess → il cane ha sporcato
to make a mess of (dirty) → sporcare (tear) → strappare (wreck) → sfasciare
to make a mess of one's life/career → rovinarsi la vita/la carriera
I made a mess of the exam → ho fatto un pasticcio all'esame
to be/get (o.s.) in a mess (fig) → essere/cacciarsi in un pasticcio

b. (Mil) → mensa

mess about mess around (fam)

1. vi + adv (waste time) → perdere tempo, trastullarsi; (play the fool) → far confusione; (in water, mud) → pasticciare
what are you doing? - just messing about → cosa fai? - niente di speciale

2. vt + adv (person) → menare per il naso; (plans) → scombinare
stop messing me about! → smettila di farmi perdere tempo!

mess about with mess around with (fam) vi + adv + prep (plans) → fare un pasticcio di
to mess about with sth → armeggiare or trafficare con qc
to mess about with sb → divertirsi con qn

mess up vt + adv (room) → mettere sottosopra; (dress) → sporcare; (hair) → scompigliare (fig) (plan, marriage, situation) → mandare a monte, rovinare

mess

(mes) noun

a state of disorder or confusion; an untidy, dirty or unpleasant sight or muddle. This room is in a terrible mess!; She looked a mess; The spilt food made a mess on the carpet.

verb

(with with) to meddle, or to have something to do with. She's always messing with the television set.

ˈmessy adjective

dirty. a messy job.

ˈmessily adverb

ˈmessiness noun

ˈmess-up noun

a muddle or state of confusion. There has been a mess-up in the timetable.

make a mess of

1. to make dirty, untidy or confused. The heavy rain has made a real mess of the garden.

2. to do badly. He made a mess of his essay.

3. to spoil or ruin (eg one's life). He made a mess of his life by drinking too much.

mess about/around

1. to behave in a foolish or annoying way. The children were shouting and messing about.

2. to work with no particular plan in a situation that involves mess. I love messing about in the kitchen.

3. (with with) to meddle or interfere with. Who's been messing about with my papers?

4. to upset or put into a state of disorder or confusion. The wind messed her hair about.

mess up

to spoil; to make a mess of. Don't mess the room up!

mess

→ فَوْضَى nepořádek rod Durcheinander μπέρδεμα desorden sotku désordre nered disordine 散乱 엉망인 상태 rotzooi rot bałagan bagunça, trapalhada беспорядок röra สภาพรกรุงรัง dağınıklık bừa bãi 混乱

mess

n. lío, confusión;

to make a ___ → hacer un ___; v. desordenar, revolver, ensuciar.

Mentioned in ?

References in periodicals archive ?

NEW YORK--Colgate Optic White is teaming up with actress Debra Messing to dish on how she has remained energized, fit and glowing throughout her career.

Colgate pairs with Debra Messing

Barbara Pisano Messing Administrative-Clinical Director GBMC - The Milton J.

Barbara Pisano Messing

"Will & Grace" star Debra Messing directly addressed first daughter Ivanka Trump Saturday night during her acceptance speech at the 2017 GLAAD Media Awards in New York City.

Debra Messing Says Ivanka Trump Needs To Be A 'Woman Who Does Good Work'

Karen Messing adheres to environmental scientist Ursula Franklin's principle that the tools of scientists should be used for worthwhile purposes.

Pain And Prejudice: What Science Can Learn about Work from the People Who Do It

M2 EQUITYBITES-August 6, 2014-XO Group names Barbara Messing as independent director on board

XO Group names Barbara Messing as independent director on board

London, United Kingdom, May 08, 2014 --(PR.com)-- Tested by Hitler, Freud, Gandhi and Stalin, Wolf Messing was one of the few major psychics of the twentieth century.

Glagoslav Released "Wolf Messing," the True Story of Russia's Greatest Psychic by Tatiana Lungin

And it wasn't just Pele who helped create Shep Messing's very own American Dream, as his teammates at the New York Cosmos more than 30 years ago also included the captain of Brazil's 1970 World Cup winners, Carlos Alberto, Bayern Munich and West Germany skipper Franz Beckenbauer and the gifted Italian maverick Giorgio Chinaglia.

My magical memories of playing with Pele

You are not a docker, and you are not a nurse - we should all thank God for that - but stop messing about in matters you know nothing about.

Stop meddling David; You Say Email:letters@liverpoolecho.co.uk

A marketing firm in Manchester is suing a multibillion-dollar home improvement manufacturer for messing with its Make A Mess trademark.

Messy handprint: N.H. firm sues in trademark mess

Image: Fussy, but likeable Best known for: Will & Grace Early life: Debra Lynn Messing was born August 15, 1968, in Brooklyn, New York, but was raised in Providence, Rhode Island.