Hail Mary

American  

[heyl mer-ee, mair-ee] / ˈheɪl ˈmɛr i, ˈmɛər i /

noun

1. Ave Maria.

2. Also called Hail Mary pass,.  Also called Hail Mary play.  a long forward pass in football, especially as a last-ditch attempt at the end of a game, where completion is considered unlikely.

---

Hail Mary British  

noun

1. Also called: Ave Maria.  RC Church a prayer to the Virgin Mary, based on the salutations of the angel Gabriel (Luke 1:28) and Elizabeth (Luke 1:42) to her

2. slang American football a very long high pass into the end zone, made in the final seconds of a half or of a game

---

Etymology

Origin of Hail Mary

1300–50; Middle English, translation of Medieval Latin Ave Maria

Example Sentences

The plaintiffs then filed a Hail Mary request with the Supreme Court to intervene before the D.C.

From Slate • Apr. 21, 2026

Holding its own in second place in its fourth week in theaters is another space adventure flick, "Project Hail Mary," which earned $24.6 million over the weekend in the United States and Canada.

From Barron's • Apr. 12, 2026

“Getting $4 billion for the SV-F route from a speculative financial instrument is just a Hail Mary pass,” a member of the Beverly Grove neighborhood association said in public comments.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 26, 2026

The findings, published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, echo the kind of mission imagined in the Hollywood film Project Hail Mary.

From Science Daily • Mar. 25, 2026

Hearing the familiar words of the Hail Mary in Spanish, as Mami always said it, helped calm Bri down.

From "The Dead and the Gone" by Susan Beth Pfeffer