mare

1 of 3

noun (1)

ˈmer 

: a female horse or other equine animal especially when fully mature or of breeding age

mare

2 of 3

noun (2)

ma·​re ˈmär-(ˌ)ā 

plural maria ˈmär-ē-ə  also mares ˈmär-(ˌ)āz 

: any of several mostly flat dark areas of considerable extent on the surface of the moon or Mars

mare

3 of 3

noun (3)

obsolete

: an evil preternatural being causing nightmares

Examples of mare in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The group brought to Kazakhstan consists of one stallion and six mares. —Cameron Pugh, The Christian Science Monitor, 5 Aug. 2024

From these photos, astronomers found that the far side features fewer of the mare plains, or maria, that span the near side — as smooth and vast as oceans or seas when viewed from above and formed from flows of ancient lava. —Sam Walters, Discover Magazine, 11 July 2024

To do this work, the researchers obtained mare’s milk from Poland, pasteurized it and used it to created four types of ice creams by varying additional yoghurt cultures and the sweetener inulin. —Grrlscientist, Forbes, 16 Aug. 2024

Four more horses, all mares from Berlin, joined the first group shortly after. —Christian Thorsberg, Smithsonian Magazine, 13 June 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English, from Old English mere; akin to Old High German merha mare, Old English mearh horse, Welsh march

Noun (2)

New Latin, from Latin, sea — more at marine

Noun (3)

Middle English, from Old English; akin to Old High German mara incubus, Serbo-Croatian mora nightmare

First Known Use

Noun (1)

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Noun (2)

1860, in the meaning defined above

Noun (3)

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing mare

• flying mare
• mare clausum
• mare liberum
• mare nostrum
• mare's nest
• mare's tail
• shank's mare

Kids Definition

mare

1 of 2 noun

ˈma(ə)r,

ˈme(ə)r

: an adult female of the horse or a related animal (as a zebra or donkey)

mare

2 of 2 noun

ma·​re

ˈmär-ā

plural maria

ˈmär-ē-ə

: any of several large dark areas on the surface of the moon or Mars

Etymology

Noun

Old English mere "a mature female horse"

Noun

scientific Latin, from Latin mare "sea"