march

¹

[ mahrch ]

verb (used without object)

1. to walk with regular and measured tread, as soldiers on parade; advance in step in an organized body.
2. to walk in a stately, deliberate manner:

   The graduates marched to the front of the auditorium to the music of “Pomp and Circumstance.”

3. to engage in a procession organized as a demonstration of protest or support (sometimes followed by on ):

   During the trade talks, thousands marched in support of farmers and the farming industry.

   Municipal workers marched on city hall to protest cuts in garbage collection.

4. to move aggressively toward a place in preparation for confrontation or battle (followed by on ):

   The angry mob marched on the Bastille.

5. to go forward; advance; proceed:

   Time marches on.

verb (used with object)

1. to cause to march:

   He marched his troops along the Niagara River toward Buffalo.

noun

1. the act or course of marching.
2. the distance covered in a single period of marching:

   The edge of the desert is three days' march away.

3. forward movement; advance; progress:

   The unrestrained march of science and technology may have some alarming social consequences.

4. a piece of music with a rhythm suited to accompany marching.
5. a procession organized as a demonstration of protest or support:

   There were antiwar marches in major cities across the nation.

   On July 29 there will be a march for universal healthcare.

March

²

[ mahrch ]

noun

1. the third month of the year, containing 31 days. : Mar.

march

³

[ mahrch ]

noun

1. a tract of land along a border of a country; frontier.
2. marches, the border districts between England and Scotland, or England and Wales.

verb (used without object)

1. to touch at the border; border.

March

⁴

[ mahrch mahrkh ]

noun

1. Francis Andrew, 1825–1911, U.S. philologist and lexicographer.
2. Fredric Frederick McIntyre Bickel, 1897–1975, U.S. actor.
3. Pey·ton Con·way [peyt, -n , kon, -wey], 1864–1955, U.S. army officer (son of Francis Andrew March).
4. German name of the Morava.

March.

⁵

abbreviation for

1. Marchioness.

M.Arch.

⁶

abbreviation for

1. Master of Architecture.

march

¹

/ mɑːtʃ /

noun

1. Also calledmarchland a frontier, border, or boundary or the land lying along it, often of disputed ownership

verb

1. intr; often foll by upon or with to share a common border (with)

MArch

²

abbreviation for

1. Master of Architecture

March

³

/ març /

noun

1. See Morava
   the German name for the Morava

March.

⁴

abbreviation for

1. Marchioness

march

⁵

/ mɑːtʃ /

verb

1. intr to walk or proceed with stately or regular steps, usually in a procession or military formation
2. tr to make (a person or group) proceed

   he marched his army to the town

3. tr to traverse or cover by marching

   to march a route

noun

1. the act or an instance of marching
2. a regular stride

   a slow march

3. a long or exhausting walk
4. advance; progression (of time, etc)
5. a distance or route covered by marching
6. a piece of music, usually in four beats to the bar, having a strongly accented rhythm
7. steal a march on
   steal a march on to gain an advantage over, esp by a secret or underhand enterprise

March

⁶

/ mɑːtʃ /

noun

1. the third month of the year, consisting of 31 days

Derived Forms

• ˈmarcher, noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of march¹

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English marchen, from Middle French marcher, Old French marchi(e)r “to tread, move,” from Frankish markōn (unattested) presumably, “to mark, pace out (a boundary)”; mark ¹

Origin of march²

before 1050; Middle English March ( e ) < Anglo-French Marche; replacing Old English Martius < Latin, short for Mārtius mēnsis month of Mars ( Mārti-, stem of Mārs + -us adj. suffix)

Origin of march³

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English march(e), from Anglo-French, Old French, from Germanic; compare Old English gemearc, Gothic marka “boundary”; mark ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of march¹

C13: from Old French marche, from Germanic; related to mark ¹

Origin of march²

C16: from Old French marchier to tread, probably of Germanic origin; compare Old English mearcian to mark ¹

Origin of march³

from Old French, from Latin Martius (month) of Mars

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. on the march, moving ahead; progressing; advancing:

   Automation is on the march.

2. steal a march on, to gain an advantage over, especially secretly or slyly.

More idioms and phrases containing march

In addition to the idiom beginning with march , also see steal a march on .

Example Sentences

I was pregnant, uncomfortably so, for the first time and with twins, due the following March.

From The Daily Beast

Last March they gave Airbus a huge piece of new business, ordering 169 A320s and 65 of the slightly larger A321.

From The Daily Beast

Her focus would be on the three months, January through March 1965, that gave birth to the Voting Rights Act.

From The Daily Beast

The NYPD Emerald Society pipes and drums struck up a slow march and the procession began the journey to the cemetery.

From The Daily Beast

In March, police arrested a group of wealthy businessmen and government officials who were about to dine on illegal tiger meat.

From The Daily Beast

In less than ten minutes, the bivouac was broken up, and our little army on the march.

From Project Gutenberg

Nothing remarkable occurred in our march through this country.

From Project Gutenberg

Genoa has but recently and partially felt the new impulse, yet even here the march of improvement is visible.

From Project Gutenberg

Then with your victorious legions you can march south and help drive the Yankee invaders from the land.

From Project Gutenberg

While they were doing this, he assembled the officers around him, and the meaning of our night march was explained to us.

From Project Gutenberg