mire
pronunciation
How to pronounce mire in British English:
UK [ˈmaɪə(r)]
How to pronounce mire in American English:
US [maɪr]
-
- Noun:
- a soft wet area of low-lying land that sinks underfoot
-
- Verb:
- entrap
- cause to get stuck as if in a mire
- be unable to move further
- soil with mud, muck, or mire
Word Origin
- mire (n.)
- c. 1300, from a Scandinavian source such as Old Norse myrr "bog, swamp," from Proto-Germanic *miuzja- (source of Old English mos "bog, marsh"), from PIE *meus- "damp" (see moss).
- mire (v.)
- c. 1400, in figurative sense of "to involve in difficulties," from mire (n.). Literal sense is from 1550s. Related: Mired; miring.
Example
- 1. Directors were led step by step into the mire .
- 2. Meanwhile the peace process is foundering , dragging both sides into the mire .
- 3. " Why have you got us into this mire , " he asked .
- 4. The last time wall street was in the mire was between 2001 and 2003 when the dotcom bubble burst .
- 5. If america does manage to avoid recession and slowly begins to pull out of this mire , it will be testimony to its underlying strengths .