Advertisement

mire (n.)

"deep mud, bog, marsh, swampland," c. 1300, from a Scandinavian source such as Old Norse myrr "bog, swamp," from Proto-Germanic *miuzja- (source of Old English mos "bog, marsh"), from PIE *meus- "damp" (see moss).

mire (v.)

c. 1400, in figurative sense of "to involve in difficulties," from mire (n.). Literal sense of "to plunge or fix in mire, sink or stall in mud" is from 1550s; that of "to cover in mud or filth" is from c. 1500. Related: Mired; miring.

Entries related to mire

Others are reading

Advertisement
Definitions of mire from WordNet
1
mire (v.)
entrap;
Our people should not be mired in the past
Synonyms: entangle
mire (v.)
cause to get stuck as if in a mire;
The mud mired our cart
Synonyms: bog down
mire (v.)
be unable to move further;
Synonyms: grind to a halt / get stuck / bog down
mire (v.)
soil with mud, muck, or mire;
Synonyms: muck / mud / muck up
2
mire (n.)
a soft wet area of low-lying land that sinks underfoot;
Synonyms: quagmire / quag / morass / slack
mire (n.)
deep soft mud in water or slush;
Synonyms: slop
mire (n.)
a difficulty or embarrassment that is hard to extricate yourself from;
caught in the mire of poverty
the country is still trying to climb out of the mire left by its previous president
From wordnet.princeton.edu

Dictionary entries near mire

mirabile dictu

miracle

miraculous

mirage

Miranda

mire

mirepoix

Miriam

mirror

mirth

mirthful

© 2001-2020 Douglas Harper