moor

1 of 3

noun (1)

ˈmu̇r 

1

chiefly British : an expanse of open rolling infertile land

2

: a boggy area

especially : one that is peaty and dominated by grasses and sedges

moor

2 of 3

verb

moored; mooring; moors

transitive verb

: to make fast with or as if with cables, lines, or anchors : anchor

intransitive verb

1

: to secure a boat by mooring : anchor

2

: to be made fast

Moor

3 of 3

noun (2)

ˈmu̇r 

1

: one of the Arab and Berber conquerors of Spain

2

: berber

Moorish

ˈmu̇r-ish 

adjective

Synonyms

Noun (1)

• campo
• champaign
• down(s)
• grassland
• heath
• lea
• ley
• llano
• pampa
• plain
• prairie
• savanna
• savannah
• steppe
• tundra
• veld
• veldt

Verb

• anchor
• catch
• clamp
• fasten
• fix
• hitch
• secure
• set

Examples of moor in a Sentence

Noun (1)

as she wanders the windswept moor, the novel's heroine vows that she will never marry the vicar

a mysterious figure who was said to have haunted the moors of southwest England

Verb

We found a harbor and moored the boat there for the night.

The boat was moored alongside the dock.

We need to find a place to moor for the night.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

And Yorkshire Dales National Park has the kind of moors the Brontës wrote about. —Steven Potter, Outside Online, 19 Nov. 2024

David Naughton stars as David Kessler, a US graduate student who treks across the Yorkshire moors with his best friend Jack (Griffin Dunne), only to be attacked by a mysterious creature. —Ars Technica, 31 Oct. 2024

Verb

The 990-foot vessel was already supposed to have begun its journey south after spending years moored on the Delaware River in Philadelphia, but its departure has been delayed indefinitely. —Matt Robison, Newsweek, 21 Nov. 2024

World Cup winners Pepe Reina and Raphael Varane have moored up their Riva speedboats at the Sinigaglia along with Alberto Moreno, which should make Como’s build-up and possession game tidier and more Spanish than last season. —James Horncastle, The Athletic, 30 July 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English mor, from Old English mōr; akin to Old High German muor moor

Verb

Middle English moren; akin to Middle Dutch meren, maren to tie, moor

Noun (2)

Middle English More, from Anglo-French, from Latin Maurus inhabitant of Mauretania

First Known Use

Noun (1)

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

15th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Noun (2)

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

moor

1 of 3 noun

ˈmu̇(ə)r 

: a boggy area

especially : one that is peaty and dominated by grasses and sedges

moor

2 of 3 verb

: to fasten in place with cables, lines, or anchors

moor a boat

moorage

-ij

noun

Moor

3 of 3 noun

ˈmu̇(ə)r 

: one of a North African people that conquered Spain in the 8th century and ruled until 1492

Moorish

-ish 

adjective

Etymology

Noun

Old English mōr "an area of open and wet wasteland"

Verb

Middle English moren "to fasten (a boat) in place"

Noun

Middle English More "Moor," from early French More (same meaning), from Latin Maurus "a person from Mauretania (a country in Africa)"