moor

1 of 3

noun (1)

1
chiefly British : an expanse of open rolling infertile land
2
: a boggy area
especially : one that is peaty and dominated by grasses and sedges

moor

2 of 3

verb

moored; mooring; moors

transitive verb

: to make fast with or as if with cables, lines, or anchors : anchor

intransitive verb

1
: to secure a boat by mooring : anchor
2
: to be made fast

Moor

3 of 3

noun (2)

1
: one of the Arab and Berber conquerors of Spain
2
: berber
Moorish adjective

Examples of moor in a Sentence

Noun (1) as she wanders the windswept moor, the novel's heroine vows that she will never marry the vicar a mysterious figure who was said to have haunted the moors of southwest England Verb We found a harbor and moored the boat there for the night. The boat was moored alongside the dock. We need to find a place to moor for the night.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
The two went on a hike through the moors, which ended at a waterfall. Elise Taylor, Vogue, 9 Nov. 2023 Also known as peat moss, sphagnum mosses carpet the ground in marshes, moors and peat bogs. Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 19 Oct. 2023 Although a stump now pokes out where the imposing sycamore once dominated the undulating English moors, arboreal experts say the tree is very much alive and will probably regrow. Jonathan Edwards, Washington Post, 3 Oct. 2023 Many of the microplastic particles found in Lake Tahoe were blue—the same color as ropes used to help moor boats, per the Chronicle. Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 24 July 2023 In any case, as far as we are concerned, large ships no longer moor in the city center of Amsterdam. Andrew Mark Miller, Fox News, 23 July 2023 The moors there are very old and ecologically valuable. Thomas Krumenacker, Scientific American, 9 June 2023 Female characters are rarely so memorable than Lady Macbeth and the three witches lurking on a Scottish moor to introduce this early tale, which might have led to the Columbo episode many years later. Teresa M. Hanafin, BostonGlobe.com, 4 June 2023 Devon is a beautiful county with wild ghostly moors and two incredible coastlines. Stacey Leasca, Travel + Leisure, 30 Apr. 2023
Verb
There, the meridian line rules and the Cutty Sark is moored. Brian T. Allen, National Review, 21 Oct. 2023 But perhaps the property’s most notable features are its panoramic coastline views and a massive private boat dock, the latter capable of mooring two 60-foot yachts. James McClain, Robb Report, 1 Oct. 2023 The two vessels that moored in Chornomorsk — the bulk carrier Aroyat and the cargo vessel Resilient Africa — are expected to be loaded with about 22,000 tons of wheat that is destined for countries in Africa and Asia, Ukraine’s infrastructure minister, Oleksandr Kubrakov, said Saturday. Vivek Shankar, New York Times, 17 Sep. 2023 That means offshore wind farms in California must float on the water’s surface, tethered or moored by cables to the ocean floor. Rob Nikolewski, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Aug. 2023 On Sunday, the first cargo vessels to arrive at a Ukrainian port since July, when Russia terminated a deal that had allowed Kyiv to export food crops across the Black Sea, were moored in Chornomorsk. Vivek Shankar, New York Times, 17 Sep. 2023 The bigger ones moor a few dozen meters offshore, passengers ferried to and from by a couple of teenage boys pushing row boats with long wooden poles. Matt Rivers, ABC News, 31 July 2023 The Archipelago Foundation’s website is a good place to find cottages and cabins to rent, guest harbors to moor for the night, as well as hotels, hostels, camping sites, restaurants, shops and activities. Ingrid K. Williams, New York Times, 25 July 2023 Newcomer Deva Cassel made an appearance in an all-white skirt suit—much to the delight of her famous mother, Monica Bellucci, who cheered from her seat on a rowing boat moored alongside the catwalk. Alex Kessler, Glamour, 26 June 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'moor.' 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 (1)

Middle English mor, from Old English mōr; akin to Old High German muor moor

Verb

Middle English moren; akin to Middle Dutch meren, maren to tie, moor

Noun (2)

Middle English More, from Anglo-French, from Latin Maurus inhabitant of Mauretania

First Known Use

Noun (1)

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

15th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Noun (2)

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of moor was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near moor

Cite this Entry

“Moor.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/moor. Accessed 6 Dec. 2023.

Kids Definition

moor

1 of 3 noun
: a boggy area
especially : one that is peaty and dominated by grasses and sedges

moor

2 of 3 verb
: to fasten in place with cables, lines, or anchors
moor a boat
moorage
-ij
noun

Moor

3 of 3 noun
: one of a North African people that conquered Spain in the 8th century and ruled until 1492
Moorish adjective
Etymology

Noun

Old English mōr "an area of open and wet wasteland"

Verb

Middle English moren "to fasten (a boat) in place"

Noun

Middle English More "Moor," from early French More (same meaning), from Latin Maurus "a person from Mauretania (a country in Africa)"

More from Merriam-Webster on moor

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