moor

¹moor

noun \ˈmu̇r\

Definition of MOOR

1

chiefly British : an expanse of open rolling infertile land

2

: a boggy area; especially : one that is peaty and dominated by grasses and sedges

Examples of MOOR

1. <as she wanders the windswept moor, the novel's heroine vows that she will never marry the vicar>
2. <a mysterious figure who was said to have haunted the moors of southwest England>

Origin of MOOR

Middle English mor, from Old English mōr; akin to Old High German muor moor

First Known Use: before 12th century

Related to MOOR

Synonyms

campo, champaign, down(s), grassland, heath, lea (or ley), llano, plain, pampa, prairie, savanna (also savannah), steppe, tundra, veld (or veldt)

Related Words

field, meadow; floodplain; bottom, bottomland, flat, lowland; plateau, table, tableland, upland

Other Ecology Terms

Malthusian, anthropogenic, biomass, carbon footprint, crepuscular, niche, sere, symbiosis, taiga, tundra

Rhymes with MOOR

Boer, boor, cure, dour, fewer, lure, Moor, Muir, poor, pure, Ruhr, sewer, skewer, spoor, stour, sure, tour, Tours, your

²moor

verb

Definition of MOOR

transitive verb

: to make fast with or as if with cables, lines, or anchors : anchor

intransitive verb

1

: to secure a boat by mooring : anchor

2

: to be made fast

Examples of MOOR

1. We found a harbor and moored the boat there for the night.
2. The boat was moored alongside the dock.
3. We need to find a place to moor for the night.

Origin of MOOR

Middle English moren; akin to Middle Dutch meren, maren to tie, moor

First Known Use: 15th century

Related to MOOR

Synonyms

anchor, catch, clamp, fix, hitch, fasten, secure, set

Antonyms

loose, loosen, unfasten, unfix, unloose, unloosen

Related Words

embed (also imbed), entrench (also intrench), implant, ingrain (also engrain), lodge, stuff, wedge

Near Antonyms

extract, prize, pry, pull, root (out), tear (out), uproot, wrest, yank

Other Nautical Terms

avast, aweigh, flotsam, jib, keel, lee, port, starboard, stay

Moor

noun \ˈmu̇r\

Definition of MOOR

1

: one of the Arab and Berber conquerors of Spain

2

: berber

— Moor·ish \-ish\ adjective

Origin of MOOR

Middle English More, from Anglo-French, from Latin Maurus inhabitant of Mauretania

First Known Use: 14th century

Other Anthropology Terms

ectomorph, ethnography, prehistory, yurt