march

[mahrch]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR march ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used without object)

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.

to go forward; advance; proceed: Time marches on.

verb (used with object)

to cause to march.

noun

the act or course of marching.

the distance covered in a single period of marching.

advance; progress; forward movement: the march of science.

a piece of music with a rhythm suited to accompany marching.

Idioms

march on, to march toward, as in protest or in preparation for confrontation or battle: The angry mob marched on the Bastille.

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.

Origin of march

1375–1425; late Middle English marchen < Middle French march(i)er, Old French marchier to tread, move < Frankish *markōn presumably, to mark, pace out (a boundary); see mark¹

march

[mahrch]

noun

a tract of land along a border of a country; frontier.

marches, the border districts between England and Scotland, or England and Wales.

verb (used without object)

to touch at the border; border.

Origin of march

1250–1300; Middle English marche < Anglo-French, Old French < Germanic; compare Old English gemearc, Gothic marka boundary; see mark¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for marching

proceeding, hiking, walking, policing, parading, patrolling, pacing, stepping

Examples from the Web for marching

Contemporary Examples of marching

There were families, church groups, and college kids, all marching in clusters.
Sharpton Recalls Civil Rights Struggle in DC March Against Police Violence
Ben Jacobs
December 13, 2014
One African American woman brandished a pocket-sized copy of the Constitution while marching.
Sharpton Recalls Civil Rights Struggle in DC March Against Police Violence
Ben Jacobs
December 13, 2014
I looked around and I was marching next to a parent with two small white children.
The Unbearable Whiteness of Protesting
Rawiya Kameir, Judnick Mayard
December 10, 2014
I was able to be alone while not alone, processing the fact that while I was marching and chanting I could literally die.
The Unbearable Whiteness of Protesting
Rawiya Kameir, Judnick Mayard
December 10, 2014
Protest leaders talk of boycotting and marching through Clayton again to shut down area businesses.
Ferguson Tensions in Black and White
Seth Ferranti
November 21, 2014

Historical Examples of marching

These latter had arrived in camp at 8.30 that morning after marching all night.
The Story of the Malakand Field Force
Sir Winston S. Churchill
He looked with some alarm at the long lines of marching men and animals.
The Story of the Malakand Field Force
Sir Winston S. Churchill
She was still in her marching costume; but her hair had been smoothed, her face washed.
The Leopard Woman
Stewart Edward White
I can see khaki--and they are marching as a white man's safari marches.
The Leopard Woman
Stewart Edward White
Then Magua arose and gave the signal to proceed, marching himself in advance.
The Last of the Mohicans
James Fenimore Cooper

British Dictionary definitions for marching

March

noun

the third month of the year, consisting of 31 days

Word Origin for March

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

March

noun

the German name for the Morava (def. 1)

MArch

abbreviation for

Master of Architecture

march

verb

(intr) to walk or proceed with stately or regular steps, usually in a procession or military formation

(tr) to make (a person or group) proceedhe marched his army to the town

(tr) to traverse or cover by marchingto march a route

noun

the act or an instance of marching

a regular stridea 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

steal a march on to gain an advantage over, esp by a secret or underhand enterprise

Derived Formsmarcher, noun

Word Origin for march

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

march

noun

Also called: marchland a frontier, border, or boundary or the land lying along it, often of disputed ownership

verb

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

Word Origin for march

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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for marching

march

n.1

"act of marching," 1580s, from march (v.) or else from Middle French marche (n.), from marcher (v.). The musical sense first attested 1570s, from notion of "rhythmic drumbeat" for marching. Transferred sense of "forward motion" is from 1620s.

march

"to walk with regular tread," early 15c., from Middle French marcher "to march, walk," from Old French marchier "to stride, march," originally "to trample, tread underfoot," perhaps from Frankish *markon or some other Germanic source related to obsolete Middle English march (n.) "borderland" (see march (n.2)). Or possibly from Gallo-Roman *marcare, from Latin marcus "hammer," via notion of "tramping the feet." Meaning "to cause to march" is from 1590s. Related: Marched; marching. Marching band is attested from 1852. Italian marciare, Spanish marchar are said to be from French.

march

n.2

"boundary," late 13c. (in reference to the borderlands beside Wales, rendering Old English Mercia), from Old French marche "boundary, frontier," from Frankish *marka or some other Germanic source (cf. Old High German marchon "to mark out, delimit," German Mark "boundary;" see mark (n.1)). Now obsolete. There was a verb in Middle English (c.1300), "tohave a common boundary," from Old French marchier "border upon, lie alongside."

March

third month, c.1200, from Anglo-French marche, Old French marz, from Latin Martius (mensis) "(month) of Mars," from Mars (genitive Martis). Replaced Old English hreðmonaþ, the first part of which is of uncertain meaning, perhaps from hræd "quick, nimble, ready, active, alert, prompt." For March hare, proverbial type of madness, see mad.

Idioms and Phrases with marching

march

In addition to the idiom beginning with march

marching orders, get one's
march to a different beat

also see:

steal a march on