ENGLISH
REFERENCE

masse

n. countable
C2 Proficiency US //ˈmæs// masse Archaic

n. a large amount or a big group of something. It is often used in the phrase 'en masse' to describe many people doing something together.

n. a large body of matter with no definite shape; a collective whole. Most frequently encountered in the adverbial phrase 'en masse', which describes a group acting as a single unit.


SIMPLE

The crowd moved en masse toward the exit.

CONTEXTUAL

When the factory announced the new safety rules, the workers walked out en masse to protest the changes.

COMPLEX

The migratory birds took flight en masse, creating a dark, shifting cloud that stretched across the horizon for several miles.

Usage

Primarily used in the French loan phrase 'en masse', which functions as an adverbial phrase meaning 'all together'.

Pitfall

They left in masseThey left en masseThe phrase is a direct loan from French and always uses 'en' rather than the English preposition 'in'.

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