DictionaryAI

mar

verb · Mar proper noun · noun
USMAHR/mɑɹ/UKMAH/mɑː(ɹ)/

Verbmars, marring, marred

Noun pluralmars

4 meanings of mar

Practice

  1. 1
    spoilverbtransitive
    To damage or spoil something, making it worse or ruining it altogether.

    A long scar marred his otherwise handsome face.

    Poor sound quality can mar even the best live recording.

    UsageOften passive, with by: a game marred by violence. The r doubles: marred, marring.

    Similarspoil, damage, ruin, blemish, disfigure

    Oppositeenhance, improve

    Note

    Its Old English ancestor mierran could also mean to disturb, confuse, squander or hinder; only the spoiling survives. The verb sits naturally in the passive, where the thing spoiled comes first: Prospero warns "or else our spell is marr'd," and in Dryden's 1700 version of the Iliad's first book "Mirth is marr'd."

    Checked 3 Nov 2026 · 5 facts

    • Mar descends from Old English mierran through Middle English merren. en.wiktionary.org
    • Old English mierran could mean disturb, confuse, squander or hinder. gutenberg.org
    • Prospero warns, “or else our spell is marr'd,” in The Tempest. gutenberg.org
    • Dryden’s translation of the Iliad’s first book was first published in 1700. apps.lib.umich.edu
    • Dryden’s translation of the Iliad’s first book contains “Mirth is marr'd.” en.wikisource.org
  2. 2
    Marchproper noun · Marabbreviation
    Short for March: the third month of the year, used especially in written dates.

    The museum is closed from Jan. 2 to Mar. 15 for repairs.

    Her passport expires on Mar. 9, 2031.

  3. 3
    nouncountable
    A mark or flaw that spoils the appearance of something.

    Light sanding removed the mars from the old oak floor.

    The only mar on the antique dresser is a faint ring left by a glass.

    Similarblemish, flaw, mark

Less common meaning

  1. 4
    noun
    A Syriac title of respect, given to every saint and also placed before the Christian names of bishops.

Practice

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Origin

Old English mierran, which meant "to disturb, confuse, waste, hinder, err", was passed down into Middle English as merren. It traces to Proto-Germanic *marzijaną ("to disturb, hinder") and then to Proto-Indo-European *mers-, meaning "to annoy, disturb, neglect, forget". Relatives include Scots mar ("to obstruct, spoil"), Dutch marren ("to delay, hinder") and Gothic marzjan ("to annoy, disturb, offend").

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 8 facts

  • Old English mierran meant to disturb, confuse, waste, hinder and err. upload.wikimedia.org
  • Old English mierran descended into Middle English merren, the ancestor of English mar. en.wiktionary.org
  • The Old English word derives from Proto-Germanic *marzijaną, meaning to disturb or hinder. en.wiktionary.org
  • The Proto-Germanic word derives from Proto-Indo-European *mers-, glossed as to annoy, disturb, neglect or forget. en.wiktionary.org
  • Scots mar is related and means to obstruct or spoil. en.wiktionary.org
  • Dutch marren is related to English mar. nl.wiktionary.org
  • Dutch marren means to delay or hinder. nl.wiktionary.org
  • Gothic marzjan is related and means to annoy, disturb or offend. en.wiktionary.org