Phrase guide

mess hall

noun · 2 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

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No pronunciation record was provided for this word.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A military dining room or building on an army or marine base.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: US

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: chow hall, dining hall, dining facility, DFAC

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

a (large) military dining room where service personnel eat or relax

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: mess

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: dining room, dining-room

Narrower terms: officer's mess

History

Etymology

From mess (“military meal”) + hall.

Across languages

Translations

11 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: столова (stolova) — military dining room
  • Finnish: kanttiini — military dining room
  • Finnish: muonituskeskus — military dining room
  • Ancient Greek: συσσίτια (sussítia) — military dining room
  • Ancient Greek: φιδίτιον (phidítion) — military dining room
  • Icelandic: matsalur — military dining room
  • Irish: bialann — military dining room
  • Russian: столо́вая (stolóvaja) — military dining room
  • Spanish: comedor militar — military dining room
  • Spanish: cantina — military dining room
  • Spanish: comedor — military dining room