march

1 of 5

noun (1)

ˈmärch 

: a border region : frontier

especially : a district originally set up to defend a boundary

—usually used in plural

the Welsh marches

march

2 of 5

verb (1)

marched; marching; marches

intransitive verb

: to have common borders or frontiers

a region that marches with Canada in the north and the Pacific in the west

march

3 of 5

verb (2)

ˈmärch 

 imperatively often  in the military ˈhärch

marched; marching; marches

intransitive verb

1

: to move along steadily usually with a rhythmic stride and in step with others

2

a

: to move in a direct purposeful manner : proceed

b

: to make steady progress : advance

time marches on

3

: to stand in orderly array suggestive of marching

transitive verb

1

: to cause to march

marched the children off to bed

2

: to cover by marching : traverse

marched 10 miles

march

4 of 5

noun (2)

ˈmärch 

1

: a musical composition that is usually in duple or quadruple time with a strongly accentuated beat and that is designed or suitable to accompany marching

2

a(1)

: the action of marching

(2)

: the distance covered within a specific period of time by marching

(3)

: a regular measured stride or rhythmic step used in marching

b

: forward movement : progress

the march of a movie toward the climax

3

: an organized procession of demonstrators who are supporting or protesting something

marchlike

ˈmärch-ˌlīk 

adjective

March

5 of 5

noun (3)

ˈmärch 

: the third month of the Gregorian calendar

Phrases

on the march

: moving steadily : advancing

Synonyms

Noun (1)

• border
• borderland
• frontier

Verb (1)

• abut
• adjoin
• border (on)
• butt (on or against)
• flank
• fringe
• join
• neighbor
• skirt
• touch
• verge (on)

Verb (2)

• file
• pace
• parade
• stride

Noun (2)

• advance
• advancement
• furtherance
• going
• headway
• onrush
• passage
• process
• procession
• progress
• progression

Examples of march in a Sentence

Noun (1)

when it was first built, this castle protected what was then the country's northern march

Verb (1)

on the west, Maine marches entirely with the state of New Hampshire

Verb (2)

the band had to practice for hours to be able to march in perfect step

bleary-eyed commuters marching off to the train station for the morning commute

Noun (2)

the march of time

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

On Saline’s first drive, Carr — who nearly had his first throw get picked off — went 6-for-6 for 55 yards as the nine-play, 80-yard march was capped by a 15-yard TD run by Rush. —Brad Emons, Detroit Free Press, 25 Aug. 2023

Blake’s grandfather, Jacob Blake Sr., was a prominent minister and civil rights leader in the Chicago area who helped organize a march and spoke in support of comprehensive housing law in Evanston, Ill., days after the 1968 assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. —Stephanie Pagones, Fox News, 24 Aug. 2020

Verb

Zoom out: Cleveland, meanwhile, is marching onward with its $440 million lakefront development plan, including a pedestrian bridge from downtown to the current stadium site. —Sam Allard, Axios, 18 Dec. 2024

Working from a short story by Isaac Asimov and the novel The Positronic Man, by Asimov and Robert Silverberg, Nicholas Kazan has concocted a surprisingly mechanical screenplay that marches through the decades toward a foregone conclusion without any sense of fun or inventiveness about the future. —Kirk Honeycutt, The Hollywood Reporter, 17 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English marche, from Anglo-French, of Germanic origin; akin to Old High German marha boundary — more at mark

Verb (2)

Middle English, from Middle French marchier to trample, march, from Old French, to trample, probably of Germanic origin; akin to Old High German marcōn to mark

Noun (3)

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin martius, from martius of Mars, from Mart-, Mars

First Known Use

Noun (1)

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Verb (1)

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Verb (2)

15th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Noun (2)

circa 1572, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (3)

13th century, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing march

• dead march
• frog-march
• grand march
• march on
• march-past
• march to the beat of a different drummer
• on the march
• steal a march on
• wedding march

Kids Definition

march

1 of 4 noun

ˈmärch 

1

: a border region : frontier

2

: a district originally set up to defend a boundary

—usually used in plural

the Welsh marches

march

2 of 4 verb

1

: to move along with a steady regular stride especially in step with others

2

: to move in a direct purposeful manner : progress

marcher noun

march

3 of 4 noun

1

a

: the action of marching

b

: the distance covered within a period of time by marching

c

: a regular even step used in marching

2

: forward movement : progress

the march of time

3

: a musical piece with a strong regular rhythm that is suitable to march to

March

4 of 4 noun

ˈmärch 

: the third month of the year

Etymology

Noun

Middle English March "the third month," from early French march (same meaning), derived from Latin martius "of (the god) Mars"

Word Origin

One of the gods worshipped by the ancient Romans was a war god named Mars. In his honor they named one of the months of the year martius, which means "of Mars" or "belonging to Mars." The Latin martius later became march in early French, and it was from early French that the word came into English.

Medical Definition

march

noun

ˈmärch 

: the progression of epileptic activity through the motor centers of the cerebral cortex that is manifested in localized convulsions in first one and then an adjacent part of the body

the Jacksonian march of convulsions