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

Missouri advanced to the Mississippi State 38 to set up a Hail Mary on the final play. — ABC News, 27 Sep. 2026

Lovejoy, which is led by former Southlake Carroll legendary coach Todd Dodge, has cruised to three easy wins before the Leopards survived Fort Worth All Saints Episcopal 30-28 last week on a Hail Mary as time ran out. — Darren Lauber, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 24 Sep. 2026

However, if the officials had not magically found an extra second for Michigan to pull off a Hail Mary, Western Michigan would have a victory over the Wolverines on its ledger and possibly be the G6 favorite at the moment. — Shaun Goodwin, Idaho Statesman, 24 Sep. 2026

The Project Hail Mary helmers have been tapped as guest artistic directors for the American Film Institute’s upcoming edition of AFI Fest presented by Canva. — Chris Gardner, HollywoodReporter, 23 Sep. 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