mare
1 Americannoun
noun
noun
-
maria
plural
noun
noun
-
(capital when part of a name) any of a large number of huge dry plains on the surface of the moon, visible as dark markings and once thought to be seas: Mare Imbrium ( Sea of Showers )
-
a similar area on the surface of Mars, such as Mare Sirenum
-
maria
plural
-
Any of the large, low-lying dark areas on the Moon or on Mars or other inner planets. The lunar maria are believed to consist of volcanic basalts, and many are believed to be basins formed initially by large impacts with meteoroids and later filled with lava flows.
-
Compare terra
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of mare1
First recorded before 900; Middle English, mere, mare, maire “horse for riding; beast of burden,” Old English mere, myre “mare”; cognate with Old Frisian merie, Dutch merrie, German Mähre, Old Norse merr; the feminine equivalents to Old English mearh, Old High German marah, march, Old Norse marr, Irish marc, “horse, steed”; see also marshal
Origin of mare2
First recorded before 900; Middle English mare “night goblin; incubus,” Old English mære, mare, mere “nightmare; monster that oppresses people in their sleep”; cognate with German Mahre, Old Norse mara; see nightmare
Origin of mare3
First recorded in 1760–70; from Latin: literally, “sea”
Explanation
A mare is an adult female horse. If your new horse is a filly, a female baby horse, she'll grow up to be a mare. Horse experts have many words to distinguish the age and sex of their animals, from foal, for any newborn horse, to stallion, a full grown male, to colt, a young male horse. Mares are known for being more easy-going than stallions, and because they're equally fast and powerful, they're as likely as males to be used for racing. Another meaning of mare ("sea" in Latin) is "dark areas of the moon," once believed to be actual oceans.
Vocabulary lists containing mare
Horsin' Around
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Space Science (Astronomy) - Introductory
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
The Moon – Introductory
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Despite riding and competing on a clone, Krajewski said she wouldn’t consider cloning her Olympic gold-medal-winning mare, Amande de B’Neville.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 6, 2026
“The expectation is that…the mare will acquire sprinter-like characteristics that she did not previously have, while maintaining her other exceptional traits,” said Gabriel Vichera, co-founder and chief scientific officer of Kheiron.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 6, 2026
Dan Skelton will be represented by mare Panic Attack as he closes in on the UK trainers' championship for the first time.
From BBC ● Apr. 6, 2026
Another class of landforms, small mare ridges, has also been identified.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 18, 2026
But they were both older and wiser coyotes and knew that even if I did not somehow intervene, coming under the mare to take the rabbit would be tantamount to committing suicide.
From This Side of Wild by Gary Paulsen
Lobate scarps appear in the highlands, while SMRs are found only in the maria.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 18, 2026
"Our detection of young, small ridges in the maria, and our discovery of their cause, completes a global picture of a dynamic, contracting moon," Watters said.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 18, 2026
It has a thicker crust, more craters and fewer maria, or plains where lava once flowed.
From New York Times ● Jun. 2, 2024
Yet the radioactive dating of highland samples showed that they are only a little older than the maria, typically 4.2 billion years rather than 3.8 billion years.
From Textbooks ● Oct. 13, 2016
Everywhere she turned she saw faces twisted into monstrous inhuman maria.
From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
