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

The La La Land star appeared at a Hall H panel to promote his upcoming film Project Hail Mary, a sci-fi adventure based on the novel of the same name by Andy Weir (The Martian), who also joined him on stage. —Wesley Stenzel, EW.com, 26 July 2025

Amazon is set to release Ryan Gosling’s Project Hail Mary in 2026, which has used Imax cameras in its production. —Etan Vlessing, HollywoodReporter, 24 July 2025

In Ireland, Richard Bolger and Conor Barry at Hail Mary Pictures co-produced with financing provided by Fís Éireann and Screen Ireland. —Samantha Bergeson, IndieWire, 22 July 2025

Stevenson’s role in the Hail Mary disaster that helped torpedo the season will forever be a talking point. —Dan Wiederer, Chicago Tribune, 20 July 2025

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