What does "mare" mean?
An adult female horse.
Mare
/mɛə/ name, noun, slang
name, noun, slang ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: An adult female horse.
- Grammar: mare is listed as name, noun, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: female horse, alkali flat, alluvial plain, basaltic plain.
- Useful contrasts: cobs, colts, filly.
- Usage evidence: The prancing chestnut mare neighed as she tried to get rid of the rider.
How to use "mare"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "mare" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "mare" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "mare" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "mare" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "mare" is acting as name, noun, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "female horse" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "mare", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 An adult female horse.
"But then I had the [massive] flintlock by me for protection. ¶[…]The linen-press and a chest on the top of it formed, however, a very good gun-carriage; and, thus mounted, aim could be taken out of the window at the old mare feeding in the meadow below by the brook, and a 'bead' could be drawn upon Molly, the dairymaid, kissing the fogger behind the hedge,[…]."
- 2 A type of evil spirit formerly thought to sit on the chest of a sleeping person; also, the feeling of suffocation felt during sleep, attributed to such a spirit. historical, obsolete
- 3 A large, dark plain, which may have the appearance of a sea, such as those on the Moon.
- 4 Obsolete form of mayor. alt-of, obsolete
- 5 female equine animal wordnet
Show 5 more definitions
- 6 A foolish woman. Ireland, UK, derogatory, slang
"The silly mare phoned your mother, talking about applying for a mortgage, and we don't want that, do we?"
- 7 A nightmare; a frustrating or terrible experience. Commonwealth, Ireland, UK, colloquial
"I'm having a complete mare today."
- 8 On Saturn's moon Titan, any of several lakes which are large expanses of what is thought to be liquid hydrocarbons.
"Kraken Mare (a lake of liquid hydrocarbons on Titan which is slightly larger than the Caspian Sea)"
- 9 Obsolete form of mair. alt-of, obsolete
- 10 a dark region of considerable extent on the surface of the moon wordnet
Proper Noun
- 1 A diminutive of the female given names Mary, Maria, Marianne, or other female names beginning with Mar-, from Hebrew.
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"The prancing chestnut mare neighed as she tried to get rid of the rider."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "mare"?
Common synonyms include: female horse, alkali flat, alluvial plain, basaltic plain, basin, biddy.
How do you use "mare" in a sentence?
The prancing chestnut mare neighed as she tried to get rid of the rider.
How do you pronounce "mare"?
Pronounced /mɛə/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English mare, mere, from Old English mīere (“female horse, mare”), from Proto-West Germanic *marhijā, from Proto-Germanic *marhijō (“female horse”), from *marhaz (“horse”). Cognates See also Scots mere, meir, mear (“mare”), North Frisian mar (“mare, horse”), West Frisian merje (“mare”), Dutch merrie (“mare”), Danish mær (“mare”), Swedish märr (“mare”), Icelandic meri (“mare”), German Mähre (“decrepit old horse”)), Old English mearh.
Etymology 2
Inherited from Middle English mare, from Old English mare (“nightmare, monster”), from Proto-West Germanic *marā, from Proto-Germanic *marǭ (“nightmare, incubus”), from Proto-Indo-European *mor- (“feminine evil spirit”). Doublet of mara. Cognates Akin to Dutch (dial.) mare, German (dial.) Mahr, Old Norse mara ( > Danish mare, Swedish mara (“incubus, nightmare”); also Old Irish Morrígan (“phantom queen”), Albanian merë (“horror”), Polish zmora (“nightmare”), Czech mura (“nightmare, moth”), Greek Μόρα (Móra).
Etymology 3
Borrowed from Latin mare (“sea”). Doublet of maar and mere (“a body of standing water”).
Etymology 4
See mayor.