mire

views updated May 21 2018

mire / mīr/ • n. a stretch of swampy or boggy ground. ∎  soft and slushy mud or dirt. ∎ fig. a situation or state of difficulty, distress, or embarrassment from which it is hard to extricate oneself: he has been left to squirm in a mire of new allegations. ∎  Ecol. a wetland area or ecosystem based on peat.• v. [tr.] (usu. be mired) cause to become stuck in mud: sometimes a heavy truck gets mired down. ∎  cover or spatter with mud. ∎  (mire someone/something in) fig. involve someone or something in (difficulties): the economy is mired in its longest recession since World War II.

The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English

mire

views updated May 23 2018

mire A general term for a wetland area and its associated ecosystem, applied most often to peaty areas.

A Dictionary of Ecology MICHAEL ALLABY

mire

views updated Jun 11 2018

mire A general term for a wetland area and its associated vegetation, applied most often to peaty areas.

A Dictionary of Plant Sciences MICHAEL ALLABY

mire

views updated May 18 2018

mire Generally, a wetland area, especially a peaty area, and its associated ecosystem.

A Dictionary of Zoology MICHAEL ALLABY

mire

views updated May 29 2018

mire † swamp, bog; mud. XIV. ME. müre, myre — ON. mýrr, rel. to MOSS.

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology T. F. HOAD

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