Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.

Definition: Mire |
MireNoun1. A soft wet area of low-lying land that sinks underfoot. Verb1. Entrap; "Our people should not be mired in the past". 2. Cause to get stuck as if in a mire; "The mud mired our cart". 3. Be unable to move further; "The car bogged down in the sand". 4. Soil with mud, muck, or mire; "The child mucked up his shirt while playing ball in the garden". Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "mire" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1258. (references) |
| Domain | Definition |
Dream Interpretation | To dream of going through mire, indicates that your dearest wishes and plans will receive a temporary check by the intervention of unusual changes in your surroundings. Source: Ten Thousand Dreams Interpreted .... |
Mining | Mud. (references) |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
Synonyms: MireSynonyms: morass (n), quagmire (n), bog down (v), entangle (v), get stuck (v), muck (v), muck up (v), mud (v). (additional references) |
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Disrepute | Impute shame to, brand, post, stigmatize, vilify, defame, slur, cast a slur upon, hold up to shame, send to Coventry; tread under foot, trample under foot; show up, drag through the mire, heap dirt upon; reprehend. |
Uncleanness | Wallow in the mire; slobber, slabber. |
Mud, mire, quagmire, alluvium, silt, sludge, slime, slush, slosh, sposh. | |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
Crosswords: Mire |
| English words defined with "mire": Bemoil, bog down ♦ Daggle-tailed, Draggle-tail ♦ involved ♦ mired, Miring, muck, muck up, mud ♦ slop, slosh, splash, splosh, squelch, squish ♦ To take soil ♦ Up to the hub. (references) |
| Specialty definitions using "mire": Clothes, Crawl ♦ Dun in the Mire ♦ Friar's Lanthorn ♦ Pig. (references) |
| Etymologies containing "mire": Quagmire. (references) |
| Non-English Usage: "Mire" is also a word in the following languages with English translations in parentheses. French (aim, sight, target), Hungarian (and over I went, whereof), Latin (mervellously, uncommonly, wonderfully), Romanian (bridegroom, groom), Scottish (diversion, frolic; transport of rage, pastime, playing), Spanish (look). |
| Domain | Usage | |
Screenplays | It has been ruthlessly dragged through the mud and mire. Never let it be said that a Hardy's Spotless reputation to be so maliciously tread upon (Tit for Tat; writing credit: Stan Laurel) | |
Lyrics | Rescue me from the mire (Do I Have To Say The Words?; performing artist: Bryan Adams) No time to wallow in the mire ("Light My Fire"; performing artist: The Doors) | |
Movie/TV Titles | La Ligne de mire (1960) A mí no me mire usted (1941) Mire megvénülünk (1916) Making Magic Out of Mire (2001) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title | ||
Books |
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Periodicals |
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Music |
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Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit | Thumbnail | Description & Credit |
![]() | Wallowing in mire. Credit: Library of Congress. | ![]() | American Red Cross Balkan Survey--Mud ankle-deep in Serbia made the trip of the members of the American Red Cross not an easy one--Here they are pushing the Red Cross camion out of the mire on the road between Vranga and Grdjelitza. Credit: Library of Congress. |
![]() | Porcallo in the mire. Credit: Library of Congress. | ![]() | Le Général Washington ne quid detrimenti capiat res publica / Peint par L. Le Paon ; gravé par N. Le Mire. Credit: Library of Congress. |
![]() | Lukavo mudrstvuia o mire, pustilsia on "vo vse chetyre," i ne fal'shivit v etoi gamme -- nogami. Credit: Library of Congress. | ||
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits. | |||
| Title | Author | Quote |
Les Miserables | Hugo, Victor | No possible choice among these men who seemed by their appearance the elite of the mire. |
Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man | Joyce, James | You flouted the ministers of holy religion, you turned your back on the confessional, you wallowed deeper and deeper in the mire of sin. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Business | According to the estimate made by Novosti v mire kosmetiki magazine, total sales of beauty products by multilevel marketing companies achieve USD 100 million. (references) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| "Mire" is generally used as a noun (singular) -- approximately 89.47% of the time. "Mire" is used about 95 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Noun (singular) | 89.47% | 85 | 35,870 |
| Noun (proper) | 5.26% | 5 | 157,705 |
| Lexical Verb (infinitive) | 3.16% | 3 | 202,518 |
| Lexical Verb (base form) | 2.11% | 2 | 245,945 |
| Total | 100.00% | 95 | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
| The following table summarizes the usage of "mire" based on a population census conducted in the United States. Ranks and frequencies are based on all names reported and classified. |
| Name | Usage/Gender | Usage per 100 million Persons | Rank in USA |
| Mire | Last name | 1,000 | 13,977 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits. | |||
Expressions using "mire": bring in the mire ♦ mire crow ♦ mire down ♦ mire drum. Additional references. | |
| Hypenated Usage | |
Ending with "mire": red-mire. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Expression | Frequency per Day |
mire | 39 |
in jewel mire | 6 |
coin de mire | 5 |
chatman mire | 5 |
grimpen mire | 4 |
album mire nz trip | 3 |
de mire point | 3 |
jack mire | 3 |
mire tv | 2 |
chateau letang.com mire | 2 |
design mire | 2 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Language | Translations for "mire"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | |
Albanian | moçal (backwater, bayou, bog, Fen, Mars, Marsh, morass, muskeg, quagmire, slew, Slough, swamp), sqotë (slobber, slop, slush, snowbroth), ngec në baltë (stall), llucë (beastliness, mud, muddiness, slime, slob, slop, sludge, slush), fëlliq (bedraggle, besmear, blur, bring in the mire, contaminate, daub, defile, dirty, draggle, foul, pollute, soil), batak (hole, morass, sink, Slough), baltë (clay, dirt, foulness, muck, mud, muddiness, ooze, silt, slime, slob, soil). (various references) | |
Arabic | مستنقع (bog, fen, marsh, marshland, moor, morass, moss, ooze, patch, pond, quag, quagmire, slew, slough, sump, swamp), وحل (bespatter, clay, dirt, mud, muddling, muddy, ooze, quaggy, silt, slime, slob), حمأة (cesspit), تورط (be embroiled, concern, dip, embroilment, get into hot water, get involved, get stuck, involvement, mix, set in motion), عرقل (hamper, obstacle, obstruct, ravel, tie up), طين (clay, daub, earth, loam, lute, luting, muck, mud, ooze, point, silt, slime, sludge, slush), شوش (bedevil, befuddle, blanket, confuse, demoralize, derange, disarrange, dislocate, disorganize, disrupt, disturb, dizzy, embroil, fog, fuddle, garble, gum up, hamper, jam, jumble, mix up, muddle, muddy, obfuscate, obscure, outface, parasite, perplex, perturb, rattle, ravel, scramble, smudge, unhinge, unsettle). (various references) | |
Bulgarian | тресавище (bog, moor, morass, ooze, quag, quagmire, sink, slew, swamp), тиня (mud, ooze, silt, slime, slob), кал (dirt, muck, mud, ooze, slime, slob, slop), въвличам в затруднение, въвличам в беда, опетнявам (attaint, besmirch, darken, imbrue, maculate, pollute, smirch, smudge, soil, spot, stain, sully, tarnish), блато (backwater, bog, hag, mere, morass, muskeg, pan, pool, swamp, water hole), потъвам в кал, позоря (asperse, be disgrace to, defame, discredit, disgrace, shame), изплесквам (bedraggle). (various references) | |
Czech | zablátit (mud), bořit se do bláta, bláto (dirt, muck, mud, ooze). (various references) | |
Farsi | کثافت (Dirt, Guck, Impurity, Jakes, Muck, Pollution, Smooch, Sully), لجن (Lair, Mud, Silt, Slob, Slobber, Slop, Slosh, Slough, Sludge, Slush), گل وشل (Slush), گرفتاری (Ado, Assurance, Captivity, Constraint, Encumbrance, Hitch, Involvement, Plight, Scrape, Snarl), درمنجلاب فروبردن , درگل فروبردن یارفتن , باتلاق (Bog, Marsh, Morass, Quagmire, Slop, Slough, Swamp, Swampland). (various references) | |
Finnish | muta (mud), lieju (mud, ooze, slime), kura (mud). (various references) | |
French | s'embourber, fange, faire embourber, empêtrer, embrouiller (mix up), bourbier, bourbe, boue (miriness). (various references) | |
German | morast (bog, morass, quagmire, Slough, slush), sumpf (bog, cesspool, marsh, morass, mud, puddle, quagmire, Slough, sump, swamp, swampland), schlamm (dirt, mud, ooze, silt, silts, slime, sludge), kot (dirt, excrement, feces, filth, muck, mud, ordure), beschmutzen (bedraggle, begrime, besmirch, dirty, draggle, pollute, smudge, soil, stain, sully, taint, thumb, to draggle, to mire, to smudge, to soil). (various references) | |
Greek | βόρβοροσ (muck, mud, welter), βόρβορος (filt, muck, mud, sludge), βυθίζω σε λάσπη, βάλτοσ (bayou, bog, moor, morass, quagmire, swalle, swamp), βαλτότοποσ, λάσπη (alluvium, cement, clay, mortar, mud, ooze, puddle, silt, slab, slime, slosh, sludge), λασπώνω (bemire, draggle, muddy, puddle, silt). (various references) | |
Hebrew | ללכלך בבוץ, בוץ (mud, swamp), בצ" (bog, morass, swamp), טיט (clay, loam, mud), רקק (bog, morass, puddle, swamp), רפש (mud, slime, sludge). (various references) | |
Hungarian | sár (dirt, mess-up, mud, ooze, slob, slobber, sludge, splash), pocsolya (dub, mere, pond, pool, puddle, slop, slough, stank, sump, wallow). (various references) | |
Indonesian | lumpur (mud, ooze, slime, slosh, sludge, slush), ambles (bog down, sink in mud). (various references) | |
Italian | melma (mud, ooze), pantano (bog, morass, ooze, quagmire, Slough, swamp), infangarsi, infangare (bemire, bespatter, Drabble, draggle, muddy, soil, throw mud), impantanarsi (bemire, bog, get bogged down, mire down, stick in the mud), fango (dirt, mud, slime, slosh, sludge, slush). (various references) | |
Japanese Kanji | 泥濘 (mud, quagmire, sludge, slush). (various references) | |
Japanese Katakana | ぬかるみ (mud, quagmire, sludge, slush), でいねい (mud, quagmire, sludge, slush). (various references) | |
Manx | laagh [f] (duck, wild goose; mud), laagh (duck, wild goose; mud). (various references) | |
Pig Latin | iremay.(various references) | |
Portuguese | porcaria (dirt, dirtiness, filth, grubbiness, mess, muck, mud, slovenliness, sludge, squalor, trash), lodaçal (marsh, muskeg, plash, swamp), lamaçal (bog, puddle, quagmire, slough), lama (dirt, mud, ooze, silt, slob, slurry), enterrar na lama, charco (bog, catchment basin, dash, dub, fen, marsh, moor, morass, plash, pond, pool, puddle, quag, quagmire, sink, slough, swamp, wash), atoleiro (bog, hag, morass, puddle, quag, quagmire, slough, swamp), atolar-se (founder, sink, slump), atolar (bog). (various references) | |
Romanian | murdãri de noroi, mlaştinã (bog, Fen, Marsh, mere, moor, morass, puddle, quagmire, slop, Slough, swamp), umple de noroi (slime), se afunda în noroi, se înnãmoli (run ashore, settle in the mud, stall), ponegri (abuse, asperse, backbite, black, blacken, cry down, cut up, demolish, denigrate, pull to pieces, run down, slander, write down), noroi (clay, filth, muck, mud, ooze, sediment, slime, slush), clisã (slime), înnãmoli (silt), încurcãturã (abashment, confusion, difficulty, encumbrance, entanglement, fix, hash, involution, involvement, loss, lost, mess, mishmash, morass, perplexity, pretty kettle of fish, puzzle, scrape, stew, tangle, trouble, upset), împroşca cu noroi (slush), ţinut mlãştinos (flat). (various references) | |
Russian | трясина (bog, morass, quagmire), грязь (dirt, dirtiness, filth, filthiness, foulness, grime, grubbiness, gunge, muck, mud, muddiness, ordure, puddle, slob, sludge, sordidness, squalor, squelch), втягивать;вязнуть грязь, втянуть во что-л., болото (bog, marsh, morass, moss, muskeg, quag, quagmire, sump, swamp, swampland, wetland). (various references) | |
Scottish | sl ib, poll (a pool, mud, pool, puddle), l thach (clay, puddle), l ban, l ban, cl tar. (various references) | |
Serbo-Croatian | ukaljati (become defiled, befoul, dirty, soil, stain, sully), kaljuga (bilge, mud, slab, soil), kaljati, glib (ooze, silt, slime), blato (dirt, mud, quagmire, slop, slops, sludge), blatiti. (various references) | |
Spanish | fango (mud, slush). (various references) | |
Swedish | dy (dirt, mud, ooze, slime, sludge, slush). (various references) | |
Thai | ทำให้เปื้อน (grime, smirch, soil), ทำให้ติ"หล่ม, หล่ม (morass). (various references) | |
Turkish | pislik (contamination, crap, crud, dinginess, dirt, dirtiness, excrement, excreta, faecal matter, faeces, feculence, filth, filthiness, foulness, gook, griminess, impurity, jerk, mess, muck, nastiness, offscourings, ordure, pollution, scum, scurvy, smear, smut, soil, sordidness, squalor, uncleanliness), batak (bog, boggy, gutter, in carey street, marsh, miry, morass, quag, quagmire, quicksand, sink, Slough, swamp), çamurlamak (bedrabble, bedraggle, bemire, bespatter, muddy, puddle, puddle about, slime, soil with mud), çamura batmak, çamura batırmak, çamur (aspersion, calumniation, clay, daub, dirt, gook, muck, mud, slime, slob, slosh, slush, soggy, squelch). (various references) | |
Ukrainian | трясовина (bog, morass, quagmire), загрузнути в трясовині, забруднити (bedaub, besmear, bruckle), болото (back water, bog, morass, ooze, quag, quagmire, slew, slue, sump, swamp, wash), багно (clay). (various references) | |
Vietnamese | vũng bùn bãi lầy bêu rếu ai, sa lầy, l m nhục ai lâm v o cảnh khó khăn, bùn (quaggy, silt, slim). (various references) | |
Welsh | tom (dirt, dung), llutrod (ashes, debris), llaid (mud), baw (dirt, dung, filth). (various references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references. | ||
| Language | Period | Translations |
| Latin | 500 BCE-Modern | caeni, caeno, cena, cenis, limo, limum. (various references) |
| Old English | 450-1100 | adela. (various references) |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Language | Date | Source | Job Chapter 30, Verse 19 |
| Greek (transliterated) | 250 BC | Septuagint | Hghsai de me isa phlw en gh kai spodw mou h meriV |
| Latin | 405 | Vulgate | Conparatus sum luto et adsimilatus favillae et cineri |
| Middle English | 1395 | Wyclif | I am comparisound to clei, and am licned to a sparke and to askis. |
| Jacobean English | 1611 | King James | He hath cast me into the mire, and I am become like dust and ashes. |
| Victorian English | 1833 | Webster | He hath cast me into the mire, and I have become like dust and ashes. |
| Basic English | 1964 | Ogden | Truly God has made me low, even to the earth, and I have become like dust. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Language | Job Chapter 30, Verse 19 |
| Albanian | Ai më ka hedhur në baltë dhe jam bërë si pluhuri dhe hiri, |
| Cebuano | Iya akong gihulog sa lunangan, Ug ako nahimo nga ingon sa abug ug abo. |
| Croatian | U blato me je oborila dolje, gle, postao sam k'o prah i pepeo. |
| Danish | Han kasted mig ud i Dynd, jeg er blevet som Støv og Aske. |
| Dutch | Hij heeft mij in het slijk geworpen, en ik ben gelijk geworden als stof en as. |
| Finnish | Hän on heittänyt minut lokaan, ja minä olen tullut tomun ja tuhan kaltaiseksi. |
| French | Dieu m`a jeté dans la boue, Et je ressemble la poussière et la cendre. |
| German | Man hat mich in den Kot getreten und gleich geachtet dem Staub und der Asche. |
| Haitian Creole | Li voye m' jete nan labou. Mwen pa pi bon pase pousyè tè ak sann dife. |
| Indonesian-Bahasa Sehari-hari | Ke dalam lumpur aku dihempaskan-Nya, aku menjadi seperti sampah saja! |
| Indonesian-Terjemahan Lama | Bahwa Ia sudah mencampakkan daku ke dalam lumpur, sehingga aku sudah disamakan dengan abu dan duli. |
| Italian | Mi ha gettato nel fango: son diventato polvere e cenere. |
| Maori | Kua maka ahau e ia ki te paru, kua rite ahau ki te puehu, ki te pungarehu. |
| Norwegian | Han har kastet mig ut i skarnet, så jeg er blitt lik støv og aske. |
| Rumanian | Dumnezeu m`a aruncat kn noroi, wi am ajuns ca yqrkna wi cenuwa. |
| Russian | пО 'ТПУЙМ НЕОС Ч ЗТСЪШ, Й С УФБМ, ЛБЛ ТБИ Й Е ЕМ. |
| Spanish | Tú me has arrojado en el lodo, y he llegado a ser como el polvo y la ceniza. |
| Swedish | I orenlighet har jag blivit nedstjälpt, och själv är jag nu lik stoft och aska. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
Derivations | |
Words beginning with "mire": mired, mires, mirex, mirexes. (additional references) | |
Words ending with "mire": admire, bemire, casimire, coadmire, pismire, quagmire. (additional references) | |
Words containing "mire": admired, admirer, admirers, admires, bemired, bemires, casimires, coadmired, coadmires, demirep, demireps, nonadmirer, nonadmirers, pismires, quagmires, semireligious, semiretired, semiretirement, semiretirements, unadmired. (additional references) | |
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"Mire" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: imar, imr, Imreie, Imren, imrex, jire, Jireh, maer, maere, mahre, maigre, maiorem, maire, mairo, Mairwen, mamre, marea, Mareb, maref, marei, mareu, marey, marje, marre, Mdrec, meere, mehre, Meira, merde, meree, merey, merf, meri, meroe, merra, meru, merv, meure, mhra, miar, Mibei, micra, mide, mie, miee, mier, Miere, mife, mifet, mige, migrer, mihr, mihre, miqe, mirac, miraj, Miram, Mirar, Mirbel, mird, mirea, miren, mirer, miret, mirex, Mirey, mirf, mirg, mirge, mirh, Miric, Mirj, mirk, mirl, miroc, Mirov, mirp, mirq, Mirra, mirri, Mirro, mirs, mirt, mirum, mirv, mirz, misrel, mitren, mive, moreb, morec, moree, moref, moreg, morej, morep, morev, morew, Morfe, morme, morze, Mre, mrem, mru, msre, muer, Muire, mure, murre, Murree, mye, myer, Mypro, myr, myre, myrie, Myrmec, myrmex, myrre, Nier, nira, nire, Niri, Njiru, Nyree, omire, smiri, ymir. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
| # of Phoneme Matches | Pronunciation | Word(s) rhyming with "mire" (pronounced mī"r or mī"er) |
| 3 | m ī" r | admire. |
| 2 | -ī" r | afire, aspire, dire, expire, fire, hire, inquire, inspire, ire, lyre, perspire, quire, reacquire, rehire, require, retire, shire, spire, squire, tyre, wire. |
| 2 | -ī" er | drier, dryer, Dyer, enquire, acquire, attire, briar, brier, buyer, choir, conspire, crier, desire, dire, entire, Eyer, fire, flier, flyer, friar, frier, fryer, higher, hire, liar, misfire, plier, prier, prior, pryer, require, retire, rewire, shier, sire, Spier, supplier, tire, transpire, Trier, tyer, wire. |
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits. | ||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
Direct Anagrams: emir, rime. | |
| Words within the letters "e-i-m-r" | |
-1 letter: ire, mir, rei, rem, rim. | |
-2 letters: em, er, me, mi, re. | |
| Words containing the letters "e-i-m-r" | |
+1 letter: aimer, crime, dimer, emirs, fermi, grime, merit, miler, mimer, miner, mired, mires, mirex, miser, miter, mitre, mixer, moire, prime, ramie, remit, remix, rimed, rimer, rimes, timer. | |
+2 letters: admire, aimers, airmen, armies, barmie, begrim, bemire, berime, bireme, cerium, chimer, crimes, dermic, dermis, dimers, dimmer, dormie, elmier, emigre, empire, epimer, erbium, ermine, fermis, filmer, firmed, firmer, fumier, gamier, grimed, grimes, hermai, hermit, homier, humeri, imager, imaret, imbrue, immure, impure, isomer, iterum, jimper, kermis, limber, limier, limmer, limner, limper, maigre, mailer, maimer, marine, mazier, megrim, memoir, menhir, merino, merits, merlin, metier, metric, milder, milers, milker, miller, milter, mimers, mincer, minder, miners, minter, mirage, mirier, mirker, misers, misery, mister, miters, mither, mitier, mitred, mitres, mixers, moiler, moires, mopier, murein, murine, permit, prelim, premie, premix, primed, primer, primes, ramies, reemit, refilm, regime, remail, remain, remind, remint, remise, remiss, remits, remixt, retime, retrim, rimers, rimier, rimmed, rimmer, rimose, rimple, roomie, simmer, simper, smiler, smiter, spirem, timber, timbre, timers, trimer, umpire, uremia, uremic, verism, vermin, vermis. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Crosswords 4. Usage: Modern | 5. Usage: Commercial 6. Images: Photo Album 7. Quotations: Fiction 8. Quotations: Non-fiction | 9. Usage Frequency 10. Names: Frequency 11. Expressions 12. Expressions: Internet | 13. Translations: Modern 14. Translations: Ancient 15. Bible Trace 16. Derivations | 17. Rhymes 18. Anagrams 19. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.