mare

[ mair ]

/ mɛər /

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noun

a fully mature female horse or other equine animal.

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Origin of mare

First recorded before 900; Middle English, mere, mare, maire “horse for riding; beast of burden,” Old English mere, myre “mare”; cognate with Old Frisian merie, Dutch merrie, German Mähre, Old Norse merr; the feminine equivalents to Old English mearh, Old High German marah, march, Old Norse marr, Irish marc, “horse, steed”; see also marshal

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH mare

mare , mayor

Words nearby mare

Marcy, Mar del Plata, Mardi Gras, Marduk, mardy, mare, Mare Acidalium, Mare Australe, Mare Boreum, Mare Chronium, Mare Cimmerium

Other definitions for mare (2 of 4)

mare²

[ mair ]

/ mɛər /

noun Obsolete.

nightmare (def. 3).

Origin of mare

First recorded before 900; Middle English mare “night goblin; incubus,” Old English mære, mare, mere “nightmare; monster that oppresses people in their sleep”; cognate with German Mahre, Old Norse mara; see nightmare

Other definitions for mare (3 of 4)

mare³

[ mahr-ey, mair-ee ]

/ ˈmɑr eɪ, ˈmɛər i /

noun, plural ma·ri·a

[mahr-ee-uh, mair-]. /ˈmɑr i ə, ˈmɛər-/. Astronomy.

any of the several large, dark plains on the moon and Mars: Galileo believed that the lunar features were seas when he first saw them through a telescope.

Origin of mare

First recorded in 1760–70; from Latin: literally, “sea”

Other definitions for mare (4 of 4)

Mar.E.

abbreviation

Marine Engineer.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use mare in a sentence

Then, in January 2019, Nixon saw it up close for the first time with Raven and his mare after a friend told her of their deaths.
Someone Is Killing Wild Horses in Arizona. One Woman Is Determined to Find Out Who|Marisa Agha / Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests, Ariz.|March 25, 2022|Time
His right leg bone was shattered by a bullet, and near him lay a red-coated pregnant mare, Sparrow, who had been shot in her belly and neck.
Someone Is Killing Wild Horses in Arizona. One Woman Is Determined to Find Out Who|Marisa Agha / Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests, Ariz.|March 25, 2022|Time
The mare incognitum stands in for the unconscious, the unexamined interior.
The Whale Who Will Come Soon - Issue 105: Whale Songs|Rebecca Giggs|September 8, 2021|Nautilus
We would have bet money on Smart’s nod for “Hacks,” a long overdue starring role for the 69-year-old actress, who is also nominated in the supporting drama actress category for her work on “Mare of Easttown.”
Emmy nominations 2021: ‘The Crown,’ ‘The Mandalorian,’ ‘WandaVision’ lead with most nods|Sonia Rao, Bethonie Butler|July 13, 2021|Washington Post

The dramas that once resided in the middle will head to streaming, or viewers will scratch that itch with television shows like Mare of Easttown.
What F9's Huge Box Office Haul Means for the Future of Movies Beyond the Pandemic|Eliana Dockterman|June 28, 2021|Time
Captain Giuseppe Maggio described the nightmare situations the Mare Nostrum ships encounter.
Britain’s Let-Em-All-Die Policy|Nico Hines, Barbie Latza Nadeau|November 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Next came Dolly, after a big sorrel mare; and Paul, after a freckled pinto; and so on down the line.
Gay Talese on Charlie Manson’s Home on the Range|Gay Talese|October 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Since Mare Nostrum, more than 60 traffickers have been arrested when their boats were intercepted or rescued at sea.
Hundreds of Migrants are Reported Drowned by Traffickers Near Malta|Barbie Latza Nadeau|September 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But if Mare Nostrum ends, it could be a tragic day for migrants making the perilous crossing.
Are European Rescuers Enticing Migrants to Their Deaths?|Barbie Latza Nadeau|September 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The proposed Titan Mare Explorer (TiME), for example, would place a boat on either Ligeia Mare or Kraken Mare.
A Cloud Forms Over Saturn’s Mysterious Moon|Matthew R. Francis|August 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Bill Barry's statement that the cru-colored bovine was "lively" and could outrun his sorrel mare was, at least founded upon fact.
Dorothy at Skyrie|Evelyn Raymond
The assassin gallops away upon his mare, and seeks by night to cross the Rhone.
Frdric Mistral|Charles Alfred Downer
A handsome soldier on a restive bay mare came next, and behind him a huge touring car with a pompous black chauffeur.
The Sunbridge Girls at Six Star Ranch|Eleanor H. (Eleanor Hodgman) Porter
Coming around the bluff from the opposite direction was a countryman mounted on a powerful gray mare.
Famous Adventures And Prison Escapes of the Civil War|Various
Kitty, the grey one-eyed mare, came and rubbed her nose against the black horse.
Menotah|Ernest G. Henham

British Dictionary definitions for mare (1 of 2)

mare¹

/ (mɛə) /

noun

the adult female of a horse or zebra

Word Origin for mare

C12: from Old English, of Germanic origin; related to Old High German mariha, Old Norse merr mare

British Dictionary definitions for mare (2 of 2)

mare²

/ (ˈmɑːreɪ, -rɪ) /

noun plural maria (ˈmɑːrɪə)

(capital when part of a name) any of a large number of huge dry plains on the surface of the moon, visible as dark markings and once thought to be seas: Mare Imbrium (Sea of Showers)

a similar area on the surface of Mars, such as Mare Sirenum

Word Origin for mare

from Latin: sea

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

Scientific definitions for mare

mare

[ mä′rā ]

Plural maria (mä′rē-ə)

Any of the large, low-lying dark areas on the Moon or on Mars or other inner planets. The lunar maria are believed to consist of volcanic basalts, and many are believed to be basins formed initially by large impacts with meteoroids and later filled with lava flows. Compare terra.

mare

Origin of mare

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH mare

Words nearby mare

Other definitions for mare (2 of 4)

Origin of mare

Other definitions for mare (3 of 4)

Origin of mare

Other definitions for mare (4 of 4)

Words related to mare

How to use mare in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for mare (1 of 2)

Word Origin for mare

British Dictionary definitions for mare (2 of 2)

Word Origin for mare

Scientific definitions for mare