mare

1 of 3

noun (1)

ˈmer 

: a female horse or other equine animal especially when fully mature or of breeding age

mare

2 of 3

noun (2)

ma·​re ˈmär-(ˌ)ā 

plural maria ˈmär-ē-ə  also mares ˈmär-(ˌ)āz 

: any of several mostly flat dark areas of considerable extent on the surface of the moon or Mars

mare

3 of 3

noun (3)

obsolete

: an evil preternatural being causing nightmares

Examples of mare in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Grafting — the process of introducing a mare to a foal that isn’t her own — can be unpredictable and doesn’t always succeed. —Ryan Brennan, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 23 Apr. 2026

At Never Dull Farm in Alberta, one mare lost her foal just as another newborn colt lost his mother. —Ryan Brennan april 23, Miami Herald, 23 Apr. 2026

Winds picked up his lightweight horse barn, known as a mare motel, and threw it about 100 yards. —Joseph Serna, Los Angeles Times, 22 Apr. 2026

Belle Takes Elliot Under Her Wing Her name was Belle, a then-27-year-old Belgian mare horse who had arrived at The Little Red Barn one month before Elliot. —Ryan Brennan, Charlotte Observer, 21 Apr. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English, from Old English mere; akin to Old High German merha mare, Old English mearh horse, Welsh march

Noun (2)

New Latin, from Latin, sea — more at marine

Noun (3)

Middle English, going back to Old English, going back to Germanic *marō(n)-, feminine, or *mara(n)-, masculine (whence also Old Saxon, Old High German & Old Icelandic mara "nightmare, demon causing nightmares"), going back to dialectal Indo-European *mor(h₂)-, denoting a nocturnal malevolent spirit, whence also Old Irish Morrígan, name of an ancient Irish war goddess (compound with rígan "queen"), Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian mòra "nightmare, blood-sucking witch," Polish zmora "nightmare, incubus," Russian kikímora "household spirit" (with initial element of uncertain origin)

First Known Use

Noun (1)

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Noun (2)

1860, in the meaning defined above

Noun (3)

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing mare

• flying mare
• mare clausum
• mare liberum
• mare nostrum
• mare's nest
• mare's tail
• shank's mare

Rhymes for mare

• air
• ayre
• bahr
• bare
• blare
• care
• chair
• claire
• ere
• err
• eyre
• fair

Kids Definition

mare

1 of 2 noun

ˈma(ə)r, 

ˈme(ə)r

: an adult female of the horse or a related animal (as a zebra or donkey)

mare

2 of 2 noun

ma·​re

ˈmär-ā

plural maria

ˈmär-ē-ə

: any of several large dark areas on the surface of the moon or Mars

Etymology

Noun

Old English mere "a mature female horse"

Noun

scientific Latin, from Latin mare "sea"