messier; messiest
1
a
: marked by confusion, disorder, or dirt : untidy
a messy room
b
: likely to create a mess
a messy task/hobby
messy paint
3
: extremely unpleasant or trying
messy lawsuits
a messy divorce
Examples of messy in a Sentence
Painting a room can be messy work.
Some kinds of glue are messier than others.
a delicious but messy sandwich
Recent Examples on the Web
The robot handles laundry, and the clip ends before the messier second attempt.
—
Robert J. Szczerba, Forbes.com, 19 June 2026
Palmetto General and other South Florida hospitals are caught in the crosshairs of a legal showdown between two health executives that began earlier this year and is getting messier.
—Michelle Marchante
june 19, Miami Herald, 19 June 2026
Though sequencing a patient’s full genome is now straightforward, identifying clear cause-and-effect relationships in the messy data of a human genome is not always possible.
—Jared Perlo, NBC news, 18 June 2026
Instead of turning bag removal into the messiest part of the routine, Momcozy’s lift-and-seal bagging system helps make the process cleaner and more convenient, with less hassle and less direct exposure.
—Malana Vantyler, USA Today, 18 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for messy
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Robert J. Szczerba, Forbes.com, 19 June 2026
Palmetto General and other South Florida hospitals are caught in the crosshairs of a legal showdown between two health executives that began earlier this year and is getting messier.
—Michelle Marchante
june 19, Miami Herald, 19 June 2026
Though sequencing a patient’s full genome is now straightforward, identifying clear cause-and-effect relationships in the messy data of a human genome is not always possible.
—Jared Perlo, NBC news, 18 June 2026
Instead of turning bag removal into the messiest part of the routine, Momcozy’s lift-and-seal bagging system helps make the process cleaner and more convenient, with less hassle and less direct exposure.
—Malana Vantyler, USA Today, 18 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for messy
Cite this Entry
“Messy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/messy. Accessed 21 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
messy
adjective
messier; messiest
1
: marked by confusion, disorder, or dirt : untidy
2
: extremely unpleasant or trying
messy lawsuits
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
