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mire

 - 5 dictionary results

mire

  [mahyuhr] noun, verb, mired, mir⋅ing.
Use mire in a Sentence
–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 mēos moss
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To mire
mire   (mīr)   
n.  

  1. An area of wet, soggy, muddy ground; a bog.

  2. Deep slimy soil or mud.

  3. 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.

  2. To soil with mud or mire.

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

[Middle English, from Old Norse mȳrr, bog.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

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."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: mire
Pronunciation: 'mI(&)r
Function: noun
: any of the objects on the arm of an ophthalmometer that are used to measure astigmatism by thereflections they produce in the cornea when illuminated
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

mire (mēr)
n.
Any of the test objects on the arm of a keratometer whose image, as reflected on the curved surface of the cornea, is used in calculating the amount of astigmatism.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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