How to Use mess in a Sentence

mess

1 of 2 noun
Definition of messnext
Synonyms for messnext
  • The school system is a mess.
  • My hair is a mess.
  • My life is a complete mess.
  • She was a real mess for a while after her divorce.
  • Things were a real mess for a while after she retired.
  • He was a mess after gardening all day.
  • How do we get ourselves into these messes?
  • Well, that's another fine mess you've gotten me into!
  • He was a mess during his daughter's wedding ceremony.
  • None of the mess has stopped Nick the Boss from closing deals, though.
    — Savannah Salazar, Vulture, 25 Oct. 2023
  • Make sure to place a plate under the grater while shredding for less mess.
    — Molly Allen, Southern Living, 4 Jan. 2024
  • Some would say the hearing was a mess of her own making.
    — Robin Givhan, Washington Post, 16 Feb. 2024
  • Here are some knee jerk reactions: The bullpen is a mess.
    — Evan Grant, Dallas News, 26 Apr. 2023
  • Just how much of a mess can children make at a restaurant?
    — Sabrina Weiss, Peoplemag, 6 Aug. 2023
  • For all the mess Jimmy has made of their lives, none of it is likely to matter much in the end.
    — Angie Han, The Hollywood Reporter, 15 Sep. 2023
  • Does the nature of the mess (stuff left out vs mud on the floor, for example) matter?
    — oregonlive, 11 July 2023
  • What should have been a light summer romp is a boring mess.
    — Dallasnews.com Staff, Dallas News, 7 Sep. 2023
  • On the 29th you’re called on to sort out other people’s messes.
    — Debbie Frank, Peoplemag, 10 Apr. 2024
  • But that’s why this is a mess — one very much of the governor’s own making.
    — Erika D. Smith, Los Angeles Times, 30 Sep. 2023
  • Davis would have swatted or altered or just plain stopped much of that mess.
    — Bill Plaschke, Los Angeles Times, 17 Mar. 2024
  • That meant that the VFX team was tasked with fixing the mess in postproduction.
    — Tatiana Siegel, Variety, 1 Nov. 2023
  • Eton mess, made with wild strawberries and basil syrup.
    — Aimee Farrell, New York Times, 5 Oct. 2023
  • The Jeffries suggestion was one of the few rational ideas to come out of this mess.
    — WSJ, 27 Oct. 2023
  • The tourism surge has led to a housing crisis, a water shortage and a traffic mess.
    — Jack Herrera, Los Angeles Times, 19 Oct. 2023
  • The House of Representatives is a mess, and two parties have to live there.
    — Alex Shephard, The New Republic, 5 Oct. 2023
  • Throw in 15 turnovers, and the Heat’s offense was a mess at times, particularly in the first and third quarters.
    — Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 1 Mar. 2024
  • All of the models came out and danced along, a pulsating mess of smiles and flowing fabrics.
    — Harry Hill, ELLE, 9 Sep. 2023
  • In the meantime, restricting Pumpkin to one part of your home – one that is the easiest to clean – can help with the mess and odor.
    — Joan Morris, The Mercury News, 4 Mar. 2024
  • Cooking bacon on the stovetop can be a greasy mess, as fat pops and splatters around the frying pan.
    — Kimberly Holland, Southern Living, 12 June 2023
  • That’s because the longer and hotter the shower, the more oil and moisture is removed from the skin—and, the higher the chance of becoming a red, itchy mess.
    — Christina Pérez, Vogue, 3 Nov. 2023
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mess

2 of 2 verb
  • The biggest part of me just doesn’t want to mess it up.
    — oregonlive, 14 May 2021
  • The rollout of the wireless tech could mess up your next flight.
    — Brett Molina, USA TODAY, 24 Dec. 2021
  • But if the zebras on the field and the zebras above them mess up on the same play, that’s a problem.
    — Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Nov. 2022
  • Why would players want to cheat, or at least find ways to mess with the new rules?
    — Scott Ostler, San Francisco Chronicle, 10 Sep. 2022
  • But something has to go very, very wrong for a film to mess up that kind of premise.
    — Lindsey Bahr, Star Tribune, 16 June 2021
  • This way, no one else could connect and mess with things.
    — Wired, 13 Aug. 2022
  • And the simple act of removing a book to read can mess things up.
    — Laurie Hertzel, Star Tribune, 16 July 2021
  • The handy rule of thumb is don’t mess with those cranky carnivores.
    — Lance Eliot, Forbes, 6 May 2021
  • King, please don’t mess this up, all of the U.K. and very specific parts of the U.S. are counting on you.
    — Charlotte Walsh, Vulture, 17 July 2021
  • No need to mess with bottles ever again, just reach out and the Pulse will take care of it.
    — Jaina Grey, WIRED, 27 Nov. 2022
  • This meant there were few things that would mess with a black-bear-size penguin.
    — Jack Tamisiea, New York Times, 8 Feb. 2023
  • This feature is for those who want to be safer online but don't want to mess with the nuts and bolts.
    — Anthony Karcz, Forbes, 13 Sep. 2021
  • Why: Never mess with a woman dressed in head-to-toe black.
    — Claire Stern, ELLE, 23 Dec. 2022
  • The Killing of a Sacred Deer, in turn with the rest of this list, is a movie that will mess with your mind in a major way.
    — Evan Romano, Men's Health, 30 Aug. 2022
  • Unlike the New York court, the Florida court declined to mess with the map close to the election.
    — Nicholas Riccardi, BostonGlobe.com, 24 Aug. 2022
  • The Americans weren’t ever supposed to mess up the 4x100.
    — BostonGlobe.com, 6 Aug. 2021
  • Haters should know not to mess with Billie and her tomato corset.
    — Carolyn Twersky, Seventeen, 12 July 2021
  • Let Aidan’s mistake be a lesson for all: Don’t mess with a girl’s shoes.
    — Eliza Huber, refinery29.com, 25 May 2021
  • Tunsil too much money to mess up the show we were supposed to have one-on-one.
    — Mary Kay Cabot, cleveland, 25 Sep. 2021
  • Paying money for a workout class only to mess up my hair and be stinky for the rest of the day?
    — Tatjana Freund, Marie Claire, 12 May 2021
  • That someone above Maya is someone Kate will not want to mess with.
    — Chris Smith, BGR, 1 Dec. 2021
  • Why should the show go back and mess with a story that already felt so complete?
    — Caroline Framke, Variety, 13 Apr. 2022
  • So a lot of us in Argentina are rooting for these capybaras to mess with the rich and out of touch.
    — Gabriela Miranda, USA TODAY, 2 Sep. 2021
  • The attitude is as follows: If times are good, why mess up a good thing?
    — WSJ, 17 Mar. 2022
  • Kids can color in the book, but the markers won’t mess up their clothes, the fold-down tray or the person sitting next to you.
    — Scott McMurren, Anchorage Daily News, 6 Nov. 2022
  • Any new sleepwear will feel weird and stiff for a bit, and might even mess up other laundry in the wash.
    — BostonGlobe.com, 28 Sep. 2021
  • That means bringing in more backcourt help, but don’t mess with the core players.
    — Terry Pluto, cleveland, 12 Jan. 2022
  • The Jets will surely find a way to mess it up, but on paper those are three solid picks.
    — Ben Volin, BostonGlobe.com, 30 Apr. 2022
  • And, of course, just what did Doctor Strange do now to mess everything up so bad?
    — Graeme McMillan, The Hollywood Reporter, 2 May 2022
  • The man clearly does not mess in the fitness department.
    — Alexis Jones, Women's Health, 16 Aug. 2023

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'mess.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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