Hail Mary

noun

plural Hail Marys

1

: a Roman Catholic prayer to the Virgin Mary that consists of salutations and a plea for her intercession

2

or less commonly Hail Mary pass : a long forward pass in football thrown into or near the end zone in a last-ditch attempt to score as time runs out

—often used figuratively

The only potential cure is a stem-cell transplant, when you take somebody else's immune system and put it into yours. But right now that's kind of a Hail Mary pass.

—Douglas Cote, quoted in Bicycling

Examples of Hail Mary in a Sentence

He threw up a Hail Mary at the end of the first half.

Recent Examples on the Web

With Biden’s popularity taking hits, this could be more of a Hail Mary move to gain favor with his left flank than a serious policy position, reports Kaelan Deese. —Keely Bastow, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 18 July 2024

Go deeper: Bob Menendez's Hail Mary: Just keep running Editor's note: This story was updated with additional developments. —Ivana Saric, Axios, 16 July 2024

Forgoing a Hail Mary bid to try to become the party’s nominee at the August convention is smart politically for Newsom, said Thad Kousser, a professor of political science at UC San Diego. —Taryn Luna, Los Angeles Times, 12 July 2024

In a final Hail Mary at the convention, the Reagan campaign proposed a rule requiring that presidential candidates name their running mates ahead of the convention roll call, hoping to squeeze Ford into choosing an unpopular No. 2. —Frederic J. Frommer, Washington Post, 11 July 2024

Word History

Etymology

translation of Medieval Latin Ave, Maria, from the opening words

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

Hail Mary

noun

-ˈme(ə)r-ē,

-ˈma(ə)r-ē,

-ˈmā-rē

: a Roman Catholic prayer to the Virgin Mary