Ave Maria
Americannoun
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(italics) the first two words of the Latin version of a prayer in the Roman Catholic Church, based on the salutation of the angel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary and the words of Elizabeth to her.
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a recitation of this prayer.
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the bead or beads on a rosary used to count off each prayer as spoken.
noun
Etymology
Origin of Ave Maria
Middle English word dating back to 1200–50; ave
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.
At the Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul in Rome's southern EUR district, bells played "Ave Maria" for Riccardo as hundreds of people spilled out into the street, far too many to fit inside.
From Barron's • Jan. 7, 2026
The champion mirrored Agent 47 in the Hitman video gaming series, making his entrance to Franz Schubert's Ave Maria - a song used in the game.
From BBC • Oct. 23, 2024
Ave Maria was started in 2005 by Tom Monaghan, founder of Domino’s Pizza and a backer of Roman Catholic causes.
From New York Times • Jan. 21, 2024
Mr. Trump’s education secretary, Betsy DeVos, spoke in May 2018 at Ave Maria University, a small Catholic school in Florida, while Ohio State and Rutgers invited Mr. Obama rather than then-President Trump in 2019.
From Washington Times • Apr. 1, 2022
She began in a low murmur, "Ave Maria, sancta tu in mulieribus...."
From Rough-Hewn by Canfield, Dorothy
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.
