mired
Americanadjective
-
trapped in mud, muck, or slime.
The concern now was how to free their mired fire engine and water tanker.
-
entangled or stuck.
Bond yields have been climbing, but they still remain mired at historically low levels.
-
soiled with mud, muck, or slime.
He looked down at his mired kaftan, speckled with dirt, and tried to brush it clean.
-
involved or entrapped in trouble or difficulty.
Only some of our colleagues have offended, it is true; but all of us are mired.
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of mired
Explanation
When you're mired in something, you're stuck or entangled in it. You can't get out. Sometimes, being mired means to be literally trapped in the mire, which is like a swamp or muck. But usually when people are mired, it's in something less icky but equally hard to get out of. You could be mired in six hours of homework. Congress could be mired in discussions that are going nowhere. A bad relationship could be mired in arguments. When you're mired, it feels like you're sinking in quicksand.
Vocabulary lists containing mired
Grendel
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Much Ado About Nothing
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The Road
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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.
Back then, stocks were mired in a painful bear market as the Federal Reserve kicked off an aggressive series of interest-rate hikes that many feared would drive the U.S. economy into a recession.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 1, 2026
LAFC, mired in a slump having won just two of its last 13 games in all competition, fired first-year coach Marc Dos Santos on Sunday with six matches left in the MLS regular season.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 28, 2026
Social media has many users trapped in nostalgia loops, desperately clinging to a simpler era that wasn’t so uniquely mired in digital discontent.
From Salon ● Sep. 14, 2026
Strong trade has represented a key lifeline for the Chinese economy in recent months, as domestic activity has been mired in the doldrums.
From Barron's ● Sep. 8, 2026
About the Aurier review, he writes, “I feel mired in flattery.”
From "Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers" by Deborah Heiligman
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.
