1
: wet spongy earth (as of a bog or marsh)
the mire is relieved only by small stretches of open dry forest—
Saturday Review
Saturday Review2
: heavy often deep mud or slush
The troops trudged onward through the mire.
3
: a troublesome or intractable situation
found themselves in a mire of debt
mired; miring
1
a
: to cause to stick fast in or as if in mire
The car was mired in the muck.
b
: to hamper or hold back as if by mire : entangle
The company has been mired in legal problems.
2
: to cover or soil with mire
his mired boots
: to stick or sink in mire
a road in which horses and wagons mired regularly—Edmund Arnold
Edmund ArnoldSynonyms
Examples of mire in a Sentence
Noun
The troops marched onward through the muck and the mire.
played on a football field that was thick with mire
Verb
the sight of the standard, which had emerged from the battle mangled and mired, still stirred the soldiers' hearts
the case has been mired in probate court for years
Recent Examples on the Web
Christopher Barnard, Vogue, 20 Dec. 2024
Related article As France sinks into the political mire, Macron must be kicking himself
A further snap election is not possible because the current parliament is required to sit until June, one year after the last vote.
—Rob Picheta, CNN, 5 Dec. 2024
Paolo Confino, Fortune Asia, 14 Jan. 2025
When McDermott first arrived, the franchise was mired in a 17-year playoff drought.
—Joe Buscaglia, The Athletic, 10 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for mire 
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Noun
McDonald made her entrance after a couple of hours, resplendent in a crimson Christian Siriano gown, the mire of Rose well and scrubbed off.
—Christopher Barnard, Vogue, 20 Dec. 2024
Related article As France sinks into the political mire, Macron must be kicking himself
A further snap election is not possible because the current parliament is required to sit until June, one year after the last vote.
—Rob Picheta, CNN, 5 Dec. 2024
Verb
The Southeast Asian country, mired in corruption scandals and political instability for much of the past ten years, is now slotting itself into the most vital parts of the global tech sector.
—Paolo Confino, Fortune Asia, 14 Jan. 2025
When McDermott first arrived, the franchise was mired in a 17-year playoff drought.
—Joe Buscaglia, The Athletic, 10 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for mire
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Dictionary Entries Near mire
Cite this Entry
“Mire.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mire. Accessed 20 Jan. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
mire
2 of 2 verb
mired; miring
1
a
: to sink or stick fast in mire
b
2
: to soil with mud or slush
Medical Definition
mire
noun
: any of the objects on the arm of an ophthalmometer that are used to measure astigmatism by the reflections they produce in the cornea when illuminated
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