mire

[mahyuh r] /maɪər/
noun
1.
a tract or area of wet, swampy ground; bog; marsh.
2.
ground of this kind, as wet, slimy soil of some depth or deep mud.
verb (used with object), mired, miring.
3.
to plunge and fix in mire; cause to stick fast in mire.
4.
to involve; entangle.
5.
to soil with mire; bespatter with mire.
verb (used without object), mired, miring.
6.
to sink in mire or mud; stick.
Origin
1300-50; Middle English < Old Norse mȳrr bog; cognate with Old English mēos moss
Related forms
unmired, adjective
Examples from the web for mire
  • Deeper in the mire.
  • Electronic databases of "eligible voters" are another potential mire.
  • The deeper we sank into the mire of reality, the higher you rose into the cool reaches of fantasy.
  • They slowly climbed out of the mire through a little sacrifice and a lot of planning.
  • Don't mire them in earthbound soap operas.
  • When present tense gets strangled in the mire.
  • So much can happen in three or four years that would mire us further in the conflict.
  • We've stumbled into a vast open mire, all tan grass and muddy smells.
  • The muck and mire of red versus blue mixes into a wonderful dark violet, a color similar to that blood we seek from a turnip.
  • And through the mire and the mist and the rain.
British Dictionary definitions for mire

mire

/maɪə/
noun
1.
a boggy or marshy area
2.
mud, muck, or dirt
verb
3.
to sink or cause to sink in a mire
4.
(transitive) to make dirty or muddy
5.
(transitive) to involve, esp in difficulties
Derived Forms
miriness, noun
miry, adjective
Word Origin
C14: from Old Norse mӯrr; related to moss
Word Origin and History for mire
n.

c.1300, from a Scandinavian source (cf. Old Norse myrr "bog, swamp"), from Proto-Germanic *miuzja- (cf. Old English mos "bog, marsh"), from PIE *meus- "damp" (see moss).

v.

c.1400, in figurative sense of "to involve in difficulties," from mire (n.). Literal sense is from 1550s. Related: Mired; miring.

mire in Medicine

mire (mēr)
n.
Any of the test objects on the arm of a keratometer whose image, as reflected on the curved surface of the cornea, is used in calculating the amount of astigmatism.