noun
mare
meh-uh
noun
1
An adult female horse.
"The mare gave birth to a healthy foal in spring."
"He led the mare gently back into the stable."
2
A frustrating, chaotic, or downright terrible experience.
"The journey home in that storm was an absolute mare."
3
A large, dark, flat plain on the Moon or another planetary body, resembling a sea from a distance.
"The Sea of Tranquility is one of the most famous lunar maria."
How to Use Mare
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishMost often a female horse; informally in British slang it can also mean a nightmare-ish, awful situation.
Common mistake
The informal "what a mare" sense is casual British slang and doesn't belong in formal writing.
Common pairings
a brood mare
what a mare
lunar mare
Word Forms
mares plural, mares plural, maria plural
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The _____ gave birth to a healthy foal in spring.
Etymology
From Old English mīere ("female horse"), tracing back through Proto-Germanic to a Proto-Indo-European root for "horse" — the same root behind the German Mähre and Welsh march.