massage
Americannoun
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the act or art of treating the body by rubbing, kneading, patting, or the like, to stimulate circulation, increase suppleness, relieve tension, etc.
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Slang. attentive or indulgent treatment; pampering.
ego massage.
verb (used with object)
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to treat by massage.
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Slang. to treat with special care and attention; coddle or pamper.
The store massages its regular customers with gifts and private sales.
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Informal.
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to manipulate, maneuver, or handle skillfully.
to massage a bill through the Senate.
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to manipulate, organize, or rearrange (data, figures, or the like) to produce a specific result, especially a favorable one.
The auditors discovered that the company had massaged the books.
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noun
verb
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to give a massage to
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to treat (stiffness, aches, etc) by a massage
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to manipulate (statistics, data, etc) so that they appear to support a particular interpretation or to be better than they are; doctor
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to boost someone's sense of self-esteem by flattery
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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massagesimple
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massagessimple
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have massagedperfect
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has massagedperfect
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am massagingprogressive
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are massagingprogressive
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is massagingprogressive
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have been massagingperfect progressive
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has been massagingperfect progressive
Past
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massagedsimple
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had massagedperfect
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was massagingprogressive
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were massagingprogressive
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had been massagingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of massage
1875–80; < French, equivalent to mass ( er ) to massage (< Arabic massa to handle) + -age -age
Explanation
When someone rubs your muscles to help relax them, that's a massage. Feels good, doesn't it? When someone tells you how great you are to gain favor, they massage your ego. Not bad, either. The word massage has a mysterious background, possibly coming from the Arabic massa, meaning "to touch," finding its way to 19th Century France by way of Napoleon. Would you accept a foot massage from Napoleon? Or, it might have worked its way to France from India, where amassar carries the meaning "knead." The year 1913 saw the first massage parlor, which was really a brothel. Today massage is a recognized form of physical therapy and is, of course, practiced by amateurs too. A little to the left, please.
Vocabulary lists containing massage
Brown Girl Dreaming
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English Words Derived from French, List 5
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Towers Falling
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
She said she may have been contaminated at a gym that she had attended to receive a massage, or at a shared home address.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
At an island resort such as Anantara Koh Yao Yai, a 90-minute Thai massage costs around $175, and comes with all the bells and whistles of luxury experience.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
Stroll down, barefoot, and it’s a free shiatsu foot massage.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026
But a medical time-out and a massage appeared to solve the problem and the 39-year-old was still fighting hard four sets later against fourth seed Auger-Aliassime.
From BBC ● Jul. 7, 2026
He had a facial massage and a mud pack, and around the edges he had his nails manicured, and he had his shoes shined.
From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck
I have watched videos of people doing cold plunges, giving themselves ear massages and contorting themselves into impossible stretches all in the name of fixing dysregulation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 19, 2026
However, in February whistleblowing retired civil servants told the BBC that Mountbatten-Windsor charged taxpayers for excessive travel costs and massages while working in the UK trade envoy role.
From BBC ● May 21, 2026
This year, attendees can sign up for free massages, red light therapy sessions, lymphatic drainage boots, and—thanks in part to a partnership with LEGO—partake in a series of analog “adult play” installations.
From Slate ● May 8, 2026
It’s deeply relaxing — and notably thorough, with attention paid to areas like the glutes that many massages skip.
From Salon ● Mar. 7, 2026
I slip one hand inside on the right, and just like the weighted blanket, warm water massages my hands, followed by warm air.
From "The Last Cuentista" by Donna Barba Higuera
Petty crimes dropped, as did homicides, according to official data, though some disputed the data as possibly massaged to benefit authorities.
From Barron's ● May 10, 2026
It was clear during the restart of his match that Shelton was not able to produce his usual high-powered serves — even before his left shoulder was massaged by a trainer.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 1, 2024
Another study reported that orangutans on Borneo massaged themselves with Dracaena cantleyi, a plant with anti-inflammatory properties used by Indigenous people to treat sore muscles, joint pain, and swelling.
From Science Magazine ● May 1, 2024
Hours after giving birth, I sat in my hospital bed holding my newborn as a nurse massaged my breasts.
From Salon ● Jan. 19, 2024
Then he massaged her with brandy and gunpowder, but it was all useless; Pancha’s life ebbed away in an interminable case of diarrhea that destroyed her body and left her with an insatiable thirst.
From "The House of the Spirits: A Novel" by Isabel Allende
"This is the Zygopush," Marvin tells me, while pressing his thumbs directly under his cheekbones and massaging upwards towards his ears in an attempt to hollow out his cheeks.
From BBC ● Mar. 14, 2026
The team says turkey meat is so thick it requires massaging to ensure the jerk seasonings are properly integrated.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 24, 2025
It took some massaging of the situation to get Sienna back on board with becoming a Bruin.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2025
When you’re wringing billions of dollars in profits out of the sickly, you’ve got to put some money into massaging public opinion.
From Slate ● Mar. 3, 2025
Harry stood there, massaging the top of his head, listening.
From "Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban" by J.K. Rowling
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
