n. 1 false show, pretence. 2 masked ball. v. (ding) (often foll. by as) appear falsely or in disguise. [Spanish mascara mask] mass’ n. 1 shapeless body of matter. 2 dense aggregation of objects (mass of fibres). 3 (in sing. or pL; usu. foll. by of) large number or amount. 4 (usu. foil. by of) unbroken expanse (of colour etc.). 5 (prec. by the) a the majority. b (in pL) ordinary people. 6 Physics quantity of matter a body contains. 7 (attrib.) on a large scale (mass hysteria; mass audience). v. assemble into a mass or as one body. [Latin massa from Greek]
