noun · verb · 9 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
Received-Pronunciation:/ˈmæsɑː(d)ʒ/
Received-Pronunciation:/məˈsɑː(d)ʒ/
Southern-England:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
General-American:/məˈsɑ(d)ʒ/
CMU ARPABET:M AH0 S AA1 ZH
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
The action of rubbing, kneading or hitting someone's body, to help the person relax, prepare for muscular action (as in contact sports) or to relieve aches.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
Examples
Having a massage can have many beneficial effects.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
The action of rubbing or kneading anything.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
Examples
The baker gave the dough one final massage.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
verb
Meaning 3
To rub and knead (someone's body or body part), to perform a massage on (somebody).
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: transitive
Examples
My neck doesn't hurt as much as it did last night since my wife massaged me after I got back from the concert.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
4
verb
Meaning 4
To rub or knead anything.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: transitive
Examples
Massage the kale to soften it before making the salad.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
5
verb
Meaning 5
To manipulate (data, a document etc.) to make it more presentable or more convenient to work with.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: transitive
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: juggle, fudge
Antonyms: none provided
6
verb
Meaning 6
To falsify (data or accounts).
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: transitive
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
7
noun
Meaning 7
kneading and rubbing parts of the body to increase circulation and promote relaxation
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
manually manipulate (someone's body), usually for medicinal or relaxation purposes
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
She rubbed down her child with a sponge
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: rub down, knead
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: manipulate
History
Etymology
From French massage (noun), from masser (“to massage”) (borrowed around the end of the 18th century from Arabic مَسَّ (massa, “feel, touch”), or from Portuguese amassar) + -age. Cognate to German massieren.
Across languages
Translations
163 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Albanian:
ndrys
— rubbing, kneading, or hitting muscled part of a body
Albanian:
ngjesh
— rubbing, kneading, or hitting muscled part of a body
Albanian:
masazh
— rubbing, kneading, or hitting muscled part of a body
Albanian:
fërkim
— rubbing, kneading, or hitting muscled part of a body
Arabic:
تَدْلِيك
(tadlīk)
— rubbing, kneading, or hitting muscled part of a body
Arabic:
تَمْسِيد
(tamsīd)
— rubbing, kneading, or hitting muscled part of a body
Arabic:
مَسَاج
(masāj)
— rubbing, kneading, or hitting muscled part of a body
Arabic:
مَسَاج
(masāj)
— rubbing, kneading, or hitting muscled part of a body
Armenian:
մերսում
(mersum)
— rubbing, kneading, or hitting muscled part of a body
Asturian:
masaxe
— rubbing, kneading, or hitting muscled part of a body
Azerbaijani:
masaj
— rubbing, kneading, or hitting muscled part of a body
Belarusian:
маса́ж
(masáž)
— rubbing, kneading, or hitting muscled part of a body
Bengali:
ম্যাসেজ
(mêśej)
— rubbing, kneading, or hitting muscled part of a body
Bulgarian:
маса́ж
(masáž)
— rubbing, kneading, or hitting muscled part of a body
Burmese:
အနှိပ်
(a.hnip)
— rubbing, kneading, or hitting muscled part of a body
Catalan:
massatge
— rubbing, kneading, or hitting muscled part of a body
Cherokee:
ᎦᏅᎦᎸᏗ
(ganvgalvdi)
— rubbing, kneading, or hitting muscled part of a body
Chinese Cantonese:
按摩
(on3 mo1)
— rubbing, kneading, or hitting muscled part of a body
Chinese Mandarin:
按摩
(ànmó)
— rubbing, kneading, or hitting muscled part of a body
Chinese Mandarin:
馬殺雞 /马杀鸡
(mǎshājī)
— rubbing, kneading, or hitting muscled part of a body
Czech:
masáž
— rubbing, kneading, or hitting muscled part of a body
Danish:
massage
— rubbing, kneading, or hitting muscled part of a body
Dutch:
massage
— rubbing, kneading, or hitting muscled part of a body
Esperanto:
masaĝo
— rubbing, kneading, or hitting muscled part of a body
Estonian:
masseerimine
— rubbing, kneading, or hitting muscled part of a body
Estonian:
massaaž
— rubbing, kneading, or hitting muscled part of a body
Faroese:
vøddamýking
— rubbing, kneading, or hitting muscled part of a body
Finnish:
hieronta
— rubbing, kneading, or hitting muscled part of a body
French:
massage
— rubbing, kneading, or hitting muscled part of a body
Galician:
masaxe
— rubbing, kneading, or hitting muscled part of a body
Galician:
freta
— rubbing, kneading, or hitting muscled part of a body
Georgian:
მასაჟი
(masaži)
— rubbing, kneading, or hitting muscled part of a body
German:
Massage
— rubbing, kneading, or hitting muscled part of a body
Greek:
μάλαξη
(málaxi)
— rubbing, kneading, or hitting muscled part of a body
Greek:
μασάζ
(masáz)
— rubbing, kneading, or hitting muscled part of a body
Ancient Greek:
μάλαξις
(málaxis)
— rubbing, kneading, or hitting muscled part of a body
Hebrew:
עִסוּי
— rubbing, kneading, or hitting muscled part of a body
Hebrew:
עיסוי
(isúy)
— rubbing, kneading, or hitting muscled part of a body
Hindi:
मालिश
(māliś)
— rubbing, kneading, or hitting muscled part of a body
Hindi:
अंगमर्दन
(aṅgmardan)
— rubbing, kneading, or hitting muscled part of a body
Hindi:
मसाज
(masāj)
— rubbing, kneading, or hitting muscled part of a body
Hungarian:
masszázs
— rubbing, kneading, or hitting muscled part of a body
Icelandic:
nudd
— rubbing, kneading, or hitting muscled part of a body
Indonesian:
pijat
— rubbing, kneading, or hitting muscled part of a body
Indonesian:
urut
— rubbing, kneading, or hitting muscled part of a body
Irish:
suathaireacht
— rubbing, kneading, or hitting muscled part of a body
Italian:
massaggio
— rubbing, kneading, or hitting muscled part of a body
Japanese:
マッサージ
(massāji)
— rubbing, kneading, or hitting muscled part of a body
Japanese:
按摩
(anma)
— rubbing, kneading, or hitting muscled part of a body
Kazakh:
массаж
(massaj)
— rubbing, kneading, or hitting muscled part of a body
Khmer:
ការគក់ច្របាច់
(kaa kŭək crɑɑbac)
— rubbing, kneading, or hitting muscled part of a body
Khmer:
ម៉ាស្សា
(maahsaa)
— rubbing, kneading, or hitting muscled part of a body
Khmer:
សម្ពាហកម្ម
(sɑmpiəhaʼkam)
— rubbing, kneading, or hitting muscled part of a body
Korean:
마사지
(masaji)
— rubbing, kneading, or hitting muscled part of a body
Korean:
안마
(anma)
— rubbing, kneading, or hitting muscled part of a body
Northern Kurdish:
gemirandin
— rubbing, kneading, or hitting muscled part of a body
Northern Kurdish:
perixandin
— rubbing, kneading, or hitting muscled part of a body
Northern Kurdish:
mistdan
— rubbing, kneading, or hitting muscled part of a body
Northern Kurdish:
masaj
— rubbing, kneading, or hitting muscled part of a body
Kyrgyz:
массаж
(massaj)
— rubbing, kneading, or hitting muscled part of a body
Lao:
ສັມພາຫະ
(sam phā ha)
— rubbing, kneading, or hitting muscled part of a body
Latin:
frictio
— rubbing, kneading, or hitting muscled part of a body
Latvian:
masāža
— rubbing, kneading, or hitting muscled part of a body
Lithuanian:
masažas
— rubbing, kneading, or hitting muscled part of a body
Macedonian:
маса́жа
(masáža)
— rubbing, kneading, or hitting muscled part of a body
Macedonian:
тр́лање
(tŕlanje)
— rubbing, kneading, or hitting muscled part of a body
Malagasy:
manotra
— rubbing, kneading, or hitting muscled part of a body
Malay:
urut
— rubbing, kneading, or hitting muscled part of a body
Maltese:
massaġġi
— rubbing, kneading, or hitting muscled part of a body
Mongolian:
иллэг
(illeg)
— rubbing, kneading, or hitting muscled part of a body
Mongolian:
массаж
(massaž)
— rubbing, kneading, or hitting muscled part of a body
Norwegian Bokmål:
massasje
— rubbing, kneading, or hitting muscled part of a body
Norwegian Nynorsk:
massasje
— rubbing, kneading, or hitting muscled part of a body
Pashto:
مساژ
(masāž)
— rubbing, kneading, or hitting muscled part of a body
Pashto:
مالش
(māleš)
— rubbing, kneading, or hitting muscled part of a body
Pashto:
چاپي
— rubbing, kneading, or hitting muscled part of a body
Pashto:
مساج
(masāj)
— rubbing, kneading, or hitting muscled part of a body
Dari:
چَاپِی
(čāpī)
— rubbing, kneading, or hitting muscled part of a body
Iranian Persian:
ماساژ
(mâsâž)
— rubbing, kneading, or hitting muscled part of a body
Polish:
masaż
— rubbing, kneading, or hitting muscled part of a body
Portuguese:
massagem
— rubbing, kneading, or hitting muscled part of a body
Romanian:
masaj
— rubbing, kneading, or hitting muscled part of a body
Romanian:
masare
— rubbing, kneading, or hitting muscled part of a body
Russian:
масса́ж
(massáž)
— rubbing, kneading, or hitting muscled part of a body
Serbo-Croatian:
маса́жа
— rubbing, kneading, or hitting muscled part of a body
Serbo-Croatian:
masáža
— rubbing, kneading, or hitting muscled part of a body
Slovak:
masáž
— rubbing, kneading, or hitting muscled part of a body
Slovene:
masaža
— rubbing, kneading, or hitting muscled part of a body
Spanish:
masaje
— rubbing, kneading, or hitting muscled part of a body
Swedish:
massage
— rubbing, kneading, or hitting muscled part of a body
Tajik:
массаж
(massaž)
— rubbing, kneading, or hitting muscled part of a body
Tajik:
молиш
(moliš)
— rubbing, kneading, or hitting muscled part of a body
Telugu:
మర్దనము
(mardanamu)
— rubbing, kneading, or hitting muscled part of a body
Thai:
การนวด
(gaan-nûuat)
— rubbing, kneading, or hitting muscled part of a body
Turkish:
masaj
— rubbing, kneading, or hitting muscled part of a body
Turkmen:
massaž
— rubbing, kneading, or hitting muscled part of a body
Ukrainian:
маса́ж
(masáž)
— rubbing, kneading, or hitting muscled part of a body
Urdu:
مالِش
(māliś)
— rubbing, kneading, or hitting muscled part of a body
Urdu:
مَساج
(masāj)
— rubbing, kneading, or hitting muscled part of a body
Uyghur:
ماساژ
(masazh)
— rubbing, kneading, or hitting muscled part of a body
Uzbek:
massaj
— rubbing, kneading, or hitting muscled part of a body
Vietnamese:
sự xoa bóp
— rubbing, kneading, or hitting muscled part of a body
Vietnamese:
sự đấm bóp
— rubbing, kneading, or hitting muscled part of a body
Welsh:
tylino
— rubbing, kneading, or hitting muscled part of a body
Yiddish:
מאַסאַזש
(masazh)
— rubbing, kneading, or hitting muscled part of a body
Arabic:
دَلَّكَ
(dallaka)
— to perform a massage on somebody
Arabic:
مَسَّدَ
(massada)
— to perform a massage on somebody
Bulgarian:
масажирам
(masažiram)
— to perform a massage on somebody
Cebuano:
hilot
— to perform a massage on somebody
Chinese Cantonese:
𢱕骨
(dap6 gwat1)
— to perform a massage on somebody
Chinese Mandarin:
按摩
(ànmó)
— to perform a massage on somebody
Czech:
masírovat
— to perform a massage on somebody
Dutch:
masseren
— to perform a massage on somebody
Esperanto:
masaĝi
— to perform a massage on somebody
Estonian:
masseerima
— to perform a massage on somebody
Finnish:
hieroa
— to perform a massage on somebody
French:
masser
— to perform a massage on somebody
Galician:
masaxear
— to perform a massage on somebody
German:
massieren
— to perform a massage on somebody
Greek:
μαλάσσω
(malásso)
— to perform a massage on somebody
Hebrew:
עיסה
— to perform a massage on somebody
Hebrew:
עסה
— to perform a massage on somebody
Hungarian:
masszíroz
— to perform a massage on somebody
Japanese:
マッサージする
(massāji suru)
— to perform a massage on somebody
Kazakh:
уқалау
(uqalau)
— to perform a massage on somebody
Khmer:
គក់ច្របាច់
(kŭək crɑɑbac)
— to perform a massage on somebody
Korean:
마사지하다
(masajihada)
— to perform a massage on somebody
Northern Kurdish:
perxandin
— to perform a massage on somebody
Lao:
ນວດ
(nūat)
— to perform a massage on somebody
Latin:
frīcō
— to perform a massage on somebody
Macedonian:
маси́ра
(masíra)
— to perform a massage on somebody
Macedonian:
тр́ла
(tŕla)
— to perform a massage on somebody
Malay:
urut
— to perform a massage on somebody
Māori:
mirimiri
— to perform a massage on somebody
Māori:
kōmuru
— to perform a massage on somebody
Māori:
kōmurumuru
— to perform a massage on somebody
Muna:
furui
— to perform a massage on somebody
Polish:
masować
— to perform a massage on somebody
Portuguese:
massagear
— to perform a massage on somebody
Portuguese:
massajar
— to perform a massage on somebody
Romanian:
masa
— to perform a massage on somebody
Romanian:
a face masaj
— to perform a massage on somebody
Russian:
масси́ровать
(massírovatʹ)
— to perform a massage on somebody
Russian:
де́лать масса́ж
(délatʹ massáž)
— to perform a massage on somebody
Spanish:
masajear
— to perform a massage on somebody
Swedish:
massera
— to perform a massage on somebody
Tausug:
hilud
— to perform a massage on somebody
Telugu:
మర్దించు
(mardiñcu)
— to perform a massage on somebody
Thai:
นวด
(nûuat)
— to perform a massage on somebody
Turkish:
masaj yapmak
— to perform a massage on somebody
Ukrainian:
масажува́ти
(masažuváty)
— to perform a massage on somebody
Ukrainian:
промасажува́ти
(promasažuváty)
— to perform a massage on somebody
Vietnamese:
xoa bóp
— to perform a massage on somebody
Vietnamese:
tẩm quất
— to perform a massage on somebody
Vietnamese:
mát-xa
— to perform a massage on somebody
Volapük:
masetön
— to perform a massage on somebody
Chinese Mandarin:
調整 /调整
(tiáozhěng)
— to manipulate data or a document
Dutch:
manipuleren
— to manipulate data or a document
German:
schönen
— to manipulate data or a document
Hungarian:
kozmetikáz
— to manipulate data or a document
Romanian:
manipula
— to manipulate data or a document
Chinese Mandarin:
篡改
(cuàngǎi)
— to falsify data or accounts
