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- Dictionarypell-mell/ˌpɛlˈmɛl/
adverb
- 1. in a confused, rushed, or disorderly manner: "they rushed pell-mell up the hill" Similar
adjective
- 1. hasty or disorganized: "steps to slow the pell-mell pace of deforestation"
noun
- 1. a disorderly situation or collection of things: "the pell-mell of ascending gables and roof tiles"
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Meaning of pell-mell in English. pell-mell. adverb. old-fashioned uk / ˌpelˈmel / us / ˌpelˈmel / Add to word list. very fast and not organized: At the sound of the alarm bell, the customers ran pell-mell for the doors. Compare. harum-scarum old-fashioned. SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases. Social order & disorder. anarchic. anarchism.
The meaning of PELL-MELL is in mingled confusion or disorder. How to use pell-mell in a sentence. Did you know?
In disorderly confusion; with reckless haste. What's the origin of the phrase 'Pell-mell'? There are various early uses of pell-mell, which have slightly different meanings. The general sense though is of people charging about ‘like chickens with their heads cut off’. See also – helter-skelter.
When things are messy, wacky, crazy, and all over the place, they are pell-mell — chaotic. If your room is a mess, with clothes everywhere, it's pell-mell. If people are running in every direction and yelling, that's a pell-mell situation.
1. in a jumbled, confused mass or manner; without order or method. 2. in wild, disorderly haste; headlong. noun.
adverb. old-fashioned us / ˌpelˈmel / uk / ˌpelˈmel / Add to word list. very fast and not organized: At the sound of the alarm bell, the customers ran pell-mell for the doors. Compare. harum-scarum old-fashioned. SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases. Social order & disorder. anarchic. anarchism. anarchistic. anarchy. bedlam. disorganization.
adverb. in disorderly, headlong haste; in a recklessly hurried manner. in a confused or jumbled mass, crowd, manner, etc.: The crowd rushed pell-mell into the store when the doors opened.
1. in a recklessly hurried manner. 2. in a disordered mass. adj. 3. disorderly or confused. 4. overhasty or precipitate; rash. n. 5. a jumbled mass, crowd, etc. 6. disorderly, headlong haste.
Definition of pell-mell adverb in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more.
OED's earliest evidence for pell-mell is from 1579, in a text by Leonard Digges, mathematician, and Thomas Digges, mathematician and member of parliament. pell-mell is a borrowing from French. Etymons: French pelle-melle, pêle-mêle. See etymology.