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
Douglas Cote, quoted in BicyclingExamples of Hail Mary in a Sentence
He threw up a Hail Mary at the end of the first half.
Recent Examples on the Web
Ryan Gosling is a middle school teacher who is tasked with a mission somehow more impossible than getting his students to care, well, about anything, in the first trailer for Project Hail Mary.
—Althea Legaspi, Rolling Stone, 30 June 2025
Project Hail Mary is slated to hit theaters on March 20, 2026.
—ArsTechnica, 30 June 2025
Ryan Gosling isn’t convinced that venturing to outer space seems like a blast in the first trailer for Amazon MGM Studios‘ sci-fi movie Project Hail Mary.
Phil Lord and Christopher Miller directed the film that hits theaters March 20, 2026.
—Ryan Gajewski, HollywoodReporter, 30 June 2025
Is there any Hail Mary that can come through now that that clock has reached zero?
—Selome Hailu, Variety, 28 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for Hail Mary
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Althea Legaspi, Rolling Stone, 30 June 2025
Project Hail Mary is slated to hit theaters on March 20, 2026.
—ArsTechnica, 30 June 2025
Ryan Gosling isn’t convinced that venturing to outer space seems like a blast in the first trailer for Amazon MGM Studios‘ sci-fi movie Project Hail Mary.
Phil Lord and Christopher Miller directed the film that hits theaters March 20, 2026.
—Ryan Gajewski, HollywoodReporter, 30 June 2025
Is there any Hail Mary that can come through now that that clock has reached zero?
—Selome Hailu, Variety, 28 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for Hail Mary
Cite this Entry
“Hail Mary.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Hail%20Mary. Accessed 14 Jul. 2025.
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