Hail Mary

[heyl mer-ee, mair-ee]

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

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of Hail Mary¹

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

Example Sentences

Absent a Hail Mary, Glenn County’s only hospital is set to close its doors in October.

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“Fuze” is a perfectly plotted genre exercise with more double crosses than a dozen Hail Marys.

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But it’s also quietly becoming the unlikely home of a Hail Mary opportunity to reverse this ecological disaster.

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“This is your Hail Mary,” Wilson said during a recent hearing on the matter.

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This comes into sharpest focus when you examine their crash-and-burn business ventures — each one a Hail Mary pass toward self-respect, status, or at least passive income.

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