Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • intransitive verb To gather together or accumulate a large quantity of (something).
  • intransitive verb To be the site of (an increasing mass), especially as a result of neglect.
  • intransitive verb To come together; collect: synonym: gather.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To collect into a mass or heap; bring together a great amount, quantity, or number of: as, to amass a fortune.
  • noun An assemblage, a heap, or an accumulation.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • transitive verb To collect into a mass or heap; to gather a great quantity of; to accumulate
  • noun obsolete A mass; a heap.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb transitive To collect into a mass or heap; to gather a great quantity of; to accumulate; as, to amass a treasure or a fortune; to amass words or phrases.
  • noun obsolete A mass; a heap.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb collect or gather
  • verb get or gather together

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English, to accumulate, from Old French amasser, to assemble : a-, to (from Latin ad-; see ad–) + masser, to gather together (from Latin massa, lump, mass; see mass).]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

French amasser, Late Latin amassare, ad + massa ("lump, mass"). See Mass.

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Examples

  • The more people you can put out of work, the more dependent you can make them on government, the more Democrat voters you have, the more political power you can amass, which is what all good statists down through history have sought: total domination and control.

    RNC airs critical ads prior to Obama visit 2009

  • Since his 1998 appointment as forestry minister, Obiang used his title to amass much of his fortune, prosecutors say.

    USATODAY.com News 2011

  • The historians Blackburn and Ricards concluded that while prostitutes in Virginia City were not the richest people in town, they did amass more wealth than most of their customers.

    A Renegade History of the United States Thaddeus Russell 2010

  • Given my present pace of shed-collection, it would take me a couple years to amass enough to create such a tree.

    Christmas Tree Made Out of Shed Antlers 2009

  • Yes | No | Report from jamesti wrote 3 weeks 2 hours ago now that is art! how long did it take him to amass that much bone?

    Christmas Tree Made Out of Shed Antlers 2009

  • Despite the boycott efforts of certain social conservatives, thousands of conservatives will amass in D.C. beginning Thursday for the Conservative Political Action Conference CPAC.

    How to make a splash at CPAC Jennifer Rubin 2011

  • With the zeal of a crusading physician hell-bent on finding a cure for her patient, she grilled judges, fellow coaches, and officials to amass their best advice.

    Welcome to My World Johnny Weir 2011

  • I offered to take Cousin shopping, explaining how I knew it could be hard to amass a "grown-up" wardrobe.

    How many clues does one need to give an overly sexy dresser? 2011

  • There were also ancestors who had managed to amass a considerable fortune.

    William and Kate Christopher Andersen 2011

  • Yes | No | Report from jamesti wrote 3 weeks 2 hours ago now that is art! how long did it take him to amass that much bone?

    Christmas Tree Made Out of Shed Antlers 2009

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