moor

1 of 3

noun (1)

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

moor

2 of 3

verb

moored; mooring; moors

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

Moor

3 of 3

noun (2)

1
: one of the Arab and Berber conquerors of Spain
2
: berber
Moorish adjective

Examples of moor in a Sentence

Noun (1) as she wanders the windswept moor, the novel's heroine vows that she will never marry the vicar a mysterious figure who was said to have haunted the moors of southwest England Verb We found a harbor and moored the boat there for the night. The boat was moored alongside the dock. We need to find a place to moor for the night.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
This 1,293-square-mile reserve, with its meadows, peat bogs, moors, rivers and forests that are home to butterflies, otters and birds, looks like a location out of a fairy tale. Catherine Garcia, theweek, 25 Jan. 2024 Stapleton, the villain, wanders through a woolly, impenetrable fog, is sucked into a bog in the moor, and asphyxiates to death. Siddhartha Mukherjee, The New Yorker, 11 Dec. 2023 Set in a lush valley in Devon, a county known for both its untamed moors and its traditional afternoon teas, the home embodies the elegance and warmth of Pinch, the furniture and lighting firm the couple co-founded in 2004. Ellie Pithers, New York Times, 21 July 2023 The two went on a hike through the moors, which ended at a waterfall. Elise Taylor, Vogue, 9 Nov. 2023 Also known as peat moss, sphagnum mosses carpet the ground in marshes, moors and peat bogs. Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 19 Oct. 2023 Although a stump now pokes out where the imposing sycamore once dominated the undulating English moors, arboreal experts say the tree is very much alive and will probably regrow. Jonathan Edwards, Washington Post, 3 Oct. 2023 Many of the microplastic particles found in Lake Tahoe were blue—the same color as ropes used to help moor boats, per the Chronicle. Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 24 July 2023 In any case, as far as we are concerned, large ships no longer moor in the city center of Amsterdam. Andrew Mark Miller, Fox News, 23 July 2023
Verb
One of the home’s owners likes to wake up before dawn, and Casiraghi positioned his desk to allow a view of his fishing boat, moored at the dock just beyond the property’s pool. Alice Newell-Hanson Stefan Ruiz, New York Times, 27 Feb. 2024 The Salty Dawg Sailing Association said in a statement that a cruising skipper contacted the group on Feb. 21 to report that the Simplicity was moored and abandoned off the south coast of St. Vincent. Justin Jouvenal, Washington Post, 27 Feb. 2024 Drones, missiles and sabotage Ukraine has pioneered the development and deployment of a range of maritime drones, using them to attack Russian naval ships at sea and when moored at ports in both Crimea and Russia. Tim Lister and Victoria Butenko, CNN, 14 Feb. 2024 Two months ago, RXR Realty became the latest to lay out a promising scheme, intending to moor it in New York and turn it into a very cool hotel, docked at Pier 76 by the Javits Center. Brittany Murray/medianews Group/long Beach Press-Telegram Via Getty Images, Curbed, 19 Jan. 2024 Since last summer, the Majestic has been moored near Portsmouth, Ohio, in Scioto County. The Enquirer, 1 Jan. 2024 The boat is moored just offshore of Mile Marker 6, close to Key West, according to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office. David Goodhue, Miami Herald, 23 Feb. 2024 Three multimillion-dollar estates perched high on the edge of a Dana Point bluff boast some of the most magnificent views in Orange County: unobstructed panoramas of the crystal blue Pacific, boats moored in the harbor and, on a clear day, Santa Catalina Island. Rong-Gong Lin Ii, Los Angeles Times, 15 Feb. 2024 Most recently, it’s spent two and a half decades moored in Philadelphia, lately in the care of a foundation that’s been trying hard to find someone to restore and find a use for it. Brittany Murray/medianews Group/long Beach Press-Telegram Via Getty Images, Curbed, 19 Jan. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'moor.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

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

Verb

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

Noun (2)

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

First Known Use

Noun (1)

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

15th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Noun (2)

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of moor was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near moor

Cite this Entry

“Moor.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/moor. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

moor

1 of 3 noun
: a boggy area
especially : one that is peaty and dominated by grasses and sedges

moor

2 of 3 verb
: to fasten in place with cables, lines, or anchors
moor a boat
moorage
-ij
noun

Moor

3 of 3 noun
: one of a North African people that conquered Spain in the 8th century and ruled until 1492
Moorish adjective
Etymology

Noun

Old English mōr "an area of open and wet wasteland"

Verb

Middle English moren "to fasten (a boat) in place"

Noun

Middle English More "Moor," from early French More (same meaning), from Latin Maurus "a person from Mauretania (a country in Africa)"

More from Merriam-Webster on moor

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!