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Synonyms

mire

American  
[mahyuhr] / maɪər /

noun

  1. a tract or area of wet, swampy ground; bog; marsh.

  2. ground of this kind, as wet, slimy soil of some depth or deep mud.


verb (used with object)

mired, miring
  1. to plunge and fix in mire; cause to stick fast in mire.

  2. to involve; entangle.

  3. to soil with mire; bespatter with mire.

verb (used without object)

mired, miring
  1. to sink and stick in mire or mud.

mire British  
/ maɪə /

noun

  1. a boggy or marshy area

  2. mud, muck, or dirt

"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

verb

  1. to sink or cause to sink in a mire

  2. (tr) to make dirty or muddy

  3. (tr) to involve, esp in difficulties

"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

Other Word Forms

  • mired adjective
  • miriness noun
  • miry adjective

Etymology

Origin of mire

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English, from Old Norse mȳrr “bog”; cognate with Old English mēos moss

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

After routing their bitter rivals 4-1 in November, they made the short trip up the Seven Sisters Road to inflict another humiliating defeat that pushed Tottenham deeper into the relegation mire.

From Barron's • Feb. 22, 2026

But after reading “The Dream Factory,” you might like him better when he still had his feet in the Shoreditch mire.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 7, 2025

When Root played a limp shot to chop on in the same over, England were in the mire.

From BBC • Nov. 29, 2024

The answer, according to the management team tasked with extricating the company from its financial mire, is that it was forced on the company by self-interested owners.

From Los Angeles Times • May 21, 2024

But the choir returned for an encore anyway, with tambourines, to sing: Swing low, sweet Chariot, And scoop me from the mire; Take me up to Glory, Snatched from Eternal Fire.

From "A Long Way from Chicago" by Richard Peck