being nothing more nor better than.
a mere pittance;
He is still a mere child.
Obsolete.
pure and unmixed, as wine, a people, or a language.
fully as much as what is specified; completely fulfilled or developed; absolute.
Chiefly British Dialect. a lake or pond.
Obsolete. any body of sea water.
archaic a lake or marsh
obsolete the sea or an inlet of it
What does -mere mean? The combining form -mere is used like a suffix meaning “part.” It is often used in scientific terms, especially in biology and anatomy. The form -mere comes from Greek méros, meaning “part” or “portion.” From this same source, we also get the combining forms -mer and -merous. Want to know more? Check out our Words That Use entries for both forms.
Mere, bare imply a scant sufficiency. They are often interchangeable, but mere frequently means no more than (enough). Bare suggests scarcely as much as (enough). Thus a mere livelihood means enough to live on but no more; a bare livelihood means scarcely enough to live on.
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English mer(e) “pure, clear, unmixed,” from Old French mier, mer, from Latin merus “pure, unmixed, simple, mere”
First recorded before 900; Middle English mere, mer, meire, Old English mer, mære “sea, ocean, lake, pond, well, cistern,” cognate with German Meer, Old Norse marr, Gothic marei, Old Irish muir, Latin mare
First recorded before 900; Middle English mere, mer, merre, Old English mǣre, gemǣre; cognate with Old Norse mæri “boundary, border land”; akin to Latin mūrus “defensive wall, city wall, boundary wall”
Combining form representing Greek méros
Mere means pure and simple, nothing more and nothing less. If the mere mention of someone's name makes you happy, then just hearing his name — and that alone — is enough to make you smile. Mere can have a little irony attached. If you introduce yourself as "a mere student," when you’re announcing your astounding invention, you're contrasting your lowly status with the enormity of your invention. This kind of mere comes from the Latin for "undiluted." Mere has a homograph — a completely different word that's spelled the same — and this mere means a lake or a pond. It’s related to the Dutch word meer — there’s lots of water in Holland.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Gloria Karefa-Smart, la mère d’Aisha, est l’unique exécutrice testamentaire de l’auteur, et elle est réputée pour sa protection des droits de citation du travail de l’écrivain.
From New York Times • Apr. 13, 2017
Am wondering about the recipe recited to you by "Ma mère" with the potatoes, onions, mussels, scallops, etc.
From New York Times • Sep. 20, 2016
Elle est mère de quatre filles et de formation auxiliaire sociale.
From New York Times • Sep. 2, 2016
I thought of George Perec's La Disparition, which was written in French without using the letter "e", a restriction that meant he could not write père, mère, parents, famille, or his own name.
From The Guardian • Jul. 26, 2012
Obedient to the permission given him, he waited upon Girdwood mère; and to her repeated the proposal with all the eloquent advocacy he could command.
From The Child Wife by Reid, Mayne
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.
