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

Think of Joe Davis calling a walk-off home run, Kevin Burkhardt calling a game-winning field goal, Mike Breen calling a buzzer-beating tip-in or Joe Buck calling a Hail Mary touchdown. — Rebecca Tauber, New York Times, 9 July 2026

But the summer box office has also lit up with movies including Toy Story 5, earning the biggest opening in that franchise's 31-year history, and Ryan Gosling took audiences on a journey of wonder and hope with Project Hail Mary. — Gerrad Hall, Entertainment Weekly, 6 July 2026

What Critics Are Saying About Project Hail Mary Project Hail Mary holds a 94% critics score and 95% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes at the time of publication. — Hannah Abraham, Forbes.com, 1 July 2026

The Project Hail Mary actor donned the cap on the sketch comedy show in April 2024 for his hosting gig with Chris Stapleton. — Rachel Raposas, PEOPLE, 30 June 2026

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

Rhymes for Hail Mary

• askari
• astbury
• azeri
• banbury
• barberry
• blackberry
• blueberry
• canary
• cranberry
• dentary
• dewberry
• dogberry

Kids Definition

Hail Mary

noun

-ˈme(ə)r-ē, 

-ˈma(ə)r-ē, 

-ˈmā-rē

: a Roman Catholic prayer to the Virgin Mary