mire

American  

[mahy^uhr] / maɪər /

noun

1. a tract or area of wet, swampy ground; bog; marsh.

2. ground of this kind, as wet, slimy soil of some depth or deep mud.

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verb (used with object)

mired, miring

1. to plunge and fix in mire; cause to stick fast in mire.

2. to involve; entangle.

3. to soil with mire; bespatter with mire.

verb (used without object)

mired, miring

1. to sink and stick in mire or mud.

mire British  

/ maɪə /

noun

1. a boggy or marshy area

2. mud, muck, or dirt

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verb

1. to sink or cause to sink in a mire

2. (tr) to make dirty or muddy

3. (tr) to involve, esp in difficulties

Other Word Forms

• mired adjective
• miriness noun
• miry adjective

Etymology

Origin of mire

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English, from Old Norse mȳrr “bog”; cognate with Old English mēos moss

Example Sentences

But he found himself once again addressing a party mired in factional in-fighting.

From BBC

Even people fleeing Somalia, a country mired in civil war and Islamist violence for decades, are being turned away at Ugandan border crossings, according to Mugabe.

From The Wall Street Journal

Business investment rose in September for the third month in a row — buoyed by spending on artificial intelligence — but the industrial side of the U.S. economy more broadly was still mired in a slump.

From The Wall Street Journal

But the park has been mired in controversy for years, and its eerily empty walkways were visible from outside during a visit earlier this month.

From Barron's

However since then the group has been mired in factional in-fighting including a row over the handling of £800,000 of donations.

From BBC

Related Words

• bog down
• embroil
• enmesh
• ensnare
• entangle
• flounder
• implicate
• involve
• stick
• tangle
• trap