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APG.American
Pronunciation Guide
HOW TO PRONOUNCE

mask

/mæsk/

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What does mask mean?

noun

  1. A cover, or partial cover, for the face, used for disguise or protection.
  2. That which disguises; a pretext or subterfuge.
  3. Appearance, likeness.
More meanings (33)

noun

  1. A festive entertainment of dancing or other diversions, where all wear masks; a masquerade.
  2. A person wearing a mask.
  3. A grotesque head or face, used to adorn keystones and other prominent parts, to spout water in fountains, and the like.
  4. In a permanent fortification, a redoubt which protects the caponiere.
  5. A screen for a battery.
  6. The lower lip of the larva of a dragonfly, modified so as to form a prehensile organ.
  7. A flat covering used to block off an unwanted portion of a scene or image.
  8. A pattern of bits used in bitwise operations; bitmask.
  9. A two-color (black and white) bitmap generated from an image, used to create transparency in the image.
  10. The black fur around a racoon's eyes.
  11. The head of a fox, shown face-on and cut off immediately behind the ears.
  12. Mesh.
  13. The mesh of a net; a net; net-bag.
  14. Mash.
  15. (obsolete) A dramatic performance in which the actors wore masks and represented mythical or allegorical characters.

verb

  1. To cover (the face or something else), in order to conceal the identity or protect against injury; to cover with a mask or visor.
  2. To disguise as something else.
  3. To conceal from view or knowledge; to cover; to hide.
  4. To conceal; also, to intervene in the line of.
  5. To cover or keep in check.
  6. To take part as a masker in a masquerade.
  7. To put on a mask; to wear a mask.
  8. To conceal or disguise one's neurodivergence, especially autism; to learn, practice, and perform certain behaviors and suppress others in order to appear more neurotypical.
  9. To cover or shield something, or a portion of something, so as to prevent reproduction or to safeguard the surface from the colors used when working with an air brush or painting.
  10. To set or unset (certain bits, or binary digits, within a value) by means of a bitmask.
  11. To disable (an interrupt, etc.) by setting or unsetting the associated bit.
  12. To mash.
  13. (brewing) To mix malt with hot water to yield wort.
  14. To be infused or steeped.
  15. To prepare tea in a teapot; alternative to brew.
  16. To bewilder; confuse.
  17. (obsolete) To disguise oneself, to be disguised in any way.
  18. (rare) To prepare (to storm).
Wiktionary contributors

Definitions regrouped for readability · CC BY-SA 4.0

IPA pronunciation

/mæsk/

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 ↗

Pronunciation varies by speaker and region. About these dictionary pronunciations.

In the pages of books

See this word in context.

Its little eyes were watching him, as through a mask, and under their influence the smile of politeness fled from his lips.
Harold FredericThe Damnation of Theron WareProject Gutenberg ebook #133
It was a borrowed individuality, undoubtedly, but it was not something to be put on and off at will like a mask.
René DoumicGeorge Sand: Some Aspects of Her Life and WritingsTranslated by Alys HallardProject Gutenberg ebook #138
More book examples (3)
Sometimes people carry to such perfection the mask they have assumed that in due course they actually become the person they seem.
W. Somerset (William Somerset) MaughamThe Moon and SixpenceProject Gutenberg ebook #222
He once remarked that “if we wish to make any impression upon the pale-face, it is necessary to put on his mask.”
Charles A. EastmanIndian Heroes and Great ChieftainsProject Gutenberg ebook #336
When I reached my destination the tissue was a perfect mask, frozen stiff, and I had to be lifted from the sleigh.
Anna Howard Shaw; Elizabeth Garver JordanThe Story of a PioneerProject Gutenberg ebook #354