to walk with regular and measured tread, as soldiers on parade; advance in step in an organized body.
to walk in a stately, deliberate manner.
The graduates marched to the front of the auditorium to the music of “Pomp and Circumstance.”
to engage in a procession organized as a demonstration of protest or support (sometimes followed byon ).
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.
to move aggressively toward a place in preparation for confrontation or battle (followed byon ).
The angry mob marched on the Bastille.
to go forward; advance; proceed.
Time marches on.
the act or course of marching.
the distance covered in a single period of marching.
The edge of the desert is three days' march away.
forward movement; advance; progress.
The unrestrained march of science and technology may have some alarming social consequences.
a piece of music with a rhythm suited to accompany marching.
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.
on the march, moving ahead; progressing; advancing.
Automation is on the march.
steal a march on, to gain an advantage over, especially secretly or slyly.
a tract of land along a border of a country; frontier.
marches, the border districts between England and Scotland, or England and Wales.
Francis Andrew, 1825–1911, U.S. philologist and lexicographer.
Fredric Frederick McIntyre Bickel, 1897–1975, U.S. actor.
Peyton Conway 1864–1955, U.S. army officer (son of Francis Andrew March).
German name of the Morava.
(intr) to walk or proceed with stately or regular steps, usually in a procession or military formation
(tr) to make (a person or group) proceed
he marched his army to the town
(tr) to traverse or cover by marching
to march a route
the act or an instance of marching
a regular stride
a slow march
a long or exhausting walk
advance; progression (of time, etc)
a distance or route covered by marching
a piece of music, usually in four beats to the bar, having a strongly accented rhythm
to gain an advantage over, esp by a secret or underhand enterprise
What happens in March? March is the third month of the year. It follows February and is followed by April. It has 31 days. March is notable because it is one of the two times a year when an equinox occurs. Around March 20–21, the vernal equinox marks the beginning of spring in the Northern Hemisphere and the autumnal equinox marks the beginning of fall in the Southern Hemisphere. (The reverse happens around September 22–23.)In places where spring begins in March, the proverb March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb is used to refer to the fact that the month often begins with harsh winter weather that eventually gives way to mild spring weather. In the U. S., March also includes the day on which people in many places adjust their clocks for daylight-saving time by setting them an hour later. March is Women’s History Month and March 8 is International Women’s Day. In the U. S., St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated on March 17. The U. S. college basketball tournament known as March Madness starts in March. The word march is also a common word meaning “to walk in a military formation” or “to walk in a purposeful way.” It’s not related to the name of the month. Example: We had a blizzard last week and now people are walking around in shorts—that’s March weather for you.
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)”; see mark 1
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English march(e), from Anglo-French, Old French, from Germanic; compare Old English gemearc, Gothic marka “boundary”; see mark 1
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)
To march is to walk with deliberate, short steps that fall in a regular rhythm. You can take your time walking into school in the morning, or you can march right up the steps and through the door. People can march just about anywhere they walk, although the verb brings to mind military processions of soldiers who march in unison. Marching bands are another example of people who march together this way. You can also use the word when you're talking about a group of demonstrators who decide to march in protest or support of a particular cause. March comes from the Middle French word marcher, which originally meant "to trample," and later came to mean "to walk."
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And it prepares us for the march of aging that none of us can escape.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
The march ended next to the Brandenburg Gate, which has been the venue for concerts since Friday.
From Barron's ● Jul. 25, 2026
The absence of fresh overnight escalations halted the global oil benchmark’s upward march, as investors hope leaders seek an off-ramp.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
On Monday, tens of thousands of protesters flooded central Delhi after the CJP called for a march to parliament as the monsoon session began.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
Will this or that tool help you on your long march across a desert?
From "The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams" by Daniel Nayeri
The company analyzed international views of for-sale listings between January and March 2026.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 29, 2026
The Justice Department opened inquiries into the Berkeley, Irvine and Los Angeles campuses in March 2025.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026
In March last year, the two sides agreed to measures including new crossing points on the UN-patrolled buffer zone and a joint solar farm.
From Barron's ● Jul. 29, 2026
On 17 March, just two days after he had been recruited, Natland flew from Stavanger to Manchester, using the emergency passport, as his normal one had expired.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
On March 24, Katsunobu Sakurai, the mayor of a town near the plant, recorded an impassioned plea for help and posted it on YouTube.
From "Meltdown" by Deirdre Langeland
"A further five arrests for the same offence were made on Friday, 28 March. Four of the arrests were at addresses in London and one in Exeter."
From BBC ● Mar. 30, 2025
“You have to go earn it in March. What someone thinks about you in August and September and October is nice, but it doesn’t mean anything. We’re trying to go earn it.”
From Washington Times ● Oct. 27, 2023
“Remember just a week ago markets were looking at a 50 bps rate hike in March. So they can move by 25 bps and acknowledge that they recognize the disruptions.”
From Reuters ● Mar. 13, 2023
“That’s always a positive heading into March. We want to be playing our best basketball in March.”
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 22, 2023
“The numbers. Three could stand for March. Fourth day. Nineteen thirty-two.”
From "Shelter (Book One): A Mickey Bolitar Novel" by Harlan Coben
A review published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases in MArch analyzed 13 PrEP studies covering 5,000 participants.
From The Guardian ● Oct. 21, 2018
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.
