mire

1 of 2

noun

1
: wet spongy earth (as of a bog or marsh)
the mire is relieved only by small stretches of open dry forestSaturday Review
2
: heavy often deep mud or slush
The troops trudged onward through the mire.
3
: a troublesome or intractable situation
found themselves in a mire of debt
miry adjective

mire

2 of 2

verb

mired; miring

transitive verb

1
a
: to cause to stick fast in or as if in mire
The car was mired in the muck.
b
: to hamper or hold back as if by mire : entangle
The company has been mired in legal problems.
2
: to cover or soil with mire
his mired boots

intransitive verb

: to stick or sink in mire
a road in which horses and wagons mired regularlyEdmund Arnold

Examples of mire in a Sentence

Noun The troops marched onward through the muck and the mire. played on a football field that was thick with mire Verb the sight of the standard, which had emerged from the battle mangled and mired, still stirred the soldiers' hearts the case has been mired in probate court for years
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
As is the way, before too long, dark secrets raise their heads along with enemies from the past reemerging, and Lowden's River Cartwright becomes tangled in the mire of his MI5 veteran grandfather's history. Simon Thompson, Forbes, 12 Sep. 2024 The answer, according to the management team tasked with extricating the company from its financial mire, is that it was forced on the company by self-interested owners. Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 21 May 2024
Verb
Israel and Hezbollah have been mired in conflict for decades — but the two have ramped up their cross-border attacks on each other since the war in Gaza began. Alexandra Banner, CNN, 24 Sep. 2024 America was mired in conflict in Vietnam and locked in a Cold War with the Soviet Union. Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy, USA TODAY, 24 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for mire 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'mire.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun and Verb

Middle English, from Old Norse mȳrr; akin to Old English mōs marsh — more at moss

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

15th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of mire was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near mire

Cite this Entry

“Mire.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mire. Accessed 5 Oct. 2024.

Kids Definition

mire

1 of 2 noun
1
: wet spongy ground (as of a bog or marsh)
2
: heavy often deep mud or slush
miry adjective

mire

2 of 2 verb
mired; miring
1
a
: to sink or stick fast in mire
2
: to soil with mud or slush

Medical Definition

mire

noun
: any of the objects on the arm of an ophthalmometer that are used to measure astigmatism by the reflections they produce in the cornea when illuminated

More from Merriam-Webster on mire

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