mire

[mahy^uhr]

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

/ maɪə /

noun

1. a boggy or marshy area

2. mud, muck, or dirt

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

Other Word Forms

• miriness noun
• miry adjective
• mired adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of mire¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of mire¹

C14: from Old Norse mӯrr; related to _moss

Example Sentences

After leading the NL batting race for much of the season, the veteran catcher had been mired in a deep slump.

From Los Angeles Times

For the beleaguered people of Venezuela, mired in more than a decade of crisis — hyperinflation, food shortages, authoritarian rule and rigged elections — a new phase of anxiety is once again rattling nerves.

From Los Angeles Times

According to Israeli media, Zamir has argued against a full-scale occupation, citing fears of endangering the lives of hostages and miring an exhausted military in Gaza.

From BBC

Some Oregon progressives give a nod to the bureaucracy that once mired nuclear reactors and say it’s time to give windmills and solar panels a faster pass.

From Salon

For most of the Padres’ first half-century, the club was mired in perpetual mediocrity.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• bog down 
• embroil 
• enmesh 
• ensnare 
• entangle 
• flounder 
• implicate 
• involve 
• stick 
• tangle 
• trap