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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

mire

Audio Help [mahy^uh

r] Pronunciation Key noun, verb, mired, mir·ing.

–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)

3.	to plunge and fix in mire; cause to stick fast in mire.

4.	to involve; entangle.

5.	to soil with mire; bespatter with mire.

–verb (used without object)

6.	to sink in mire or mud; stick.

[Origin: 1300–50; ME < ON mȳrr bog; c. OE méos moss

]

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

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mire

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

mire Audio Help (mīr) Pronunciation Key
n.

An area of wet, soggy, muddy ground; a bog.
Deep slimy soil or mud.
A disadvantageous or difficult condition or situation: the mire of poverty.

v. mired, mir·ing, mires

v. tr.

1. To cause to sink or become stuck in or as if in mire.
2. To hinder, entrap, or entangle as if in mire.
To soil with mud or mire.

v. intr.
To sink or become stuck in mire.

[Middle English, from Old Norse mȳrr, bog.]

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
mire

c.1300, from O.N. myrr "bog, swamp," cognate with O.E. mos "bog" (see moss). The verb is first attested c.1400 in the fig. sense of "to involve in difficulties."

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

mire
noun
1.	a soft wet area of low-lying land that sinks underfoot
2.	deep soft mud in water or slush; "they waded through the slop" [syn: slop]
3.	a difficulty or embarrassment that is hard to extricate yourself from; "the country is still trying to climb out of the mire left by its previous president"; "caught in the mire of poverty"
verb
1.	entrap; "Our people should not be mired in the past" [syn: entangle]
2.	cause to get stuck as if in a mire; "The mud mired our cart"
3.	be unable to move further; "The car bogged down in the sand" [syn: grind to a halt]
4.	soil with mud, muck, or mire; "The child mucked up his shirt while playing ball in the garden"