Hail Mary

noun

plural Hail Marys

1

: a Roman Catholic prayer to the Virgin Mary that consists of salutations and a plea for her intercession

2

or less commonly Hail Mary pass : a long forward pass in football thrown into or near the end zone in a last-ditch attempt to score as time runs out

—often used figuratively

The only potential cure is a stem-cell transplant, when you take somebody else's immune system and put it into yours. But right now that's kind of a Hail Mary pass.

—Douglas Cote, quoted in Bicycling

Examples of Hail Mary in a Sentence

He threw up a Hail Mary at the end of the first half.

Recent Examples on the Web

But in the waning days before the app shuts down, three senators and a representative are making a last-ditch, Hail Mary effort to buy TikTok more time. —Andrew Sheeler, Sacramento Bee, 15 Jan. 2025

Lucan Toh of Two & Two Pictures produced alongside Ian Henry of London Film & TV and Richard Bolger of Hail Mary Pictures. —Matt Grobar, Deadline, 13 Jan. 2025

The Los Angeles Rams defense appeared to be content to drop back in coverage and prevent San Francisco’s Brock Purdy from completing a Hail Mary on the final play of their Thursday night game on Dec. 12. —Joe Reedy, Los Angeles Times, 11 Jan. 2025

Noah Brown’s game-winning Hail Mary catch against Chicago is the most glaring example, but the Commanders went 4-1 in games decided by a field goal or less and trailed or were tied in the fourth quarter of five of their victories. —Jordan Brenner, The Athletic, 10 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

translation of Medieval Latin Ave, Maria, from the opening words

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

Hail Mary

noun

-ˈme(ə)r-ē,

-ˈma(ə)r-ē,

-ˈmā-rē

: a Roman Catholic prayer to the Virgin Mary