mire

Meaning

Noun

1. (countable, uncountable) Deep mud; moist, spongy earth.
2. (countable, uncountable) A bog or fen; (in wetland science, specifically) a peatland which is actively forming peat, such as an active bog or fen.
3. (countable, uncountable) An undesirable situation; a predicament.

Verb

1. (transitive) To cause or permit to become stuck in mud; to plunge or fix in mud.
2. (intransitive) To sink into mud.
3. (figuratively, transitive) To weigh down.
4. (intransitive) To soil with mud or foul matter.

Synonyms

mud

bog

marsh

sludge

slime

quagmire

swamp

slough

muck

ooze

slush

dirt

silt

morass

fen

bog down

clay

get stuck

quag

muddy place

entangle

muddy

puddle

muck up

slack

soil

jam

swampland

filth

wet mud

loam

grind to a halt

soft mud

draggle

slop

swale

swampy

taint

trap

🪤

wallow

welter

mudhole

mud puddle

smutch

wet dirt

muddy up

covered with dirt

Moor

sighting marker

alluvium

Translations

fango

bourbe

Schlamm

βούρκος

Morast

modder

melma

moeras

Sümpfe

fange

βαλτότοπος

boue

Sumpf

pantano

marécage

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈmaɪə/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: mire

Cognate with Swedish: myr

Cognate with Norwegian: myr

Cognate with Icelandic: mýri

Cognate with Dutch:

Cognate with Old English: mēos

Cognate with Old English: mos

Cognate with English: moss

In summary

From Middle English mire, a borrowing from Old Norse mýrr, from Proto-Germanic *miuzijō, whence also Swedish myr, Norwegian myr, Icelandic mýri, Dutch *mier (in placenames, for example Mierlo). Related to Proto-Germanic *meusą, whence Old English mēos, and Proto-Germanic *musą, whence Old English mos (English moss).