mere
Noun pluralmeres
Pluralmeres
- 1Only what is named and nothing more, often used to make something seem small or unimportant.
Like adding the word 'just' before something to make it sound small.
A mere child could solve that puzzle.
The whole thing cost a mere five dollars.
UsageAlways used before a noun. You can use a mere before a plural number, as in a mere five dollars.
Note
- 2
- 3Pure, with nothing else mixed in, and so total or complete.
Note
Less common meanings
- 4A line or stone that shows where one piece of land ends and another starts.
The Troian Brute did first that Citie found, / And Hygate made the meare thereof by West, / And Ouert gate by North: that is the bound / Toward the land; two riuers bound the rest.
1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie QueeneHere, meare means a boundary, the line where the city ends on the west.Similarboundary, border, limit
Note
- 5SayME-ree/ˈmɛɹi/A short, flat fighting club used by the Maori people of New Zealand.
Like a flat, hand-sized paddle used as a weapon.
The warrior carried a smooth greenstone mere at his side.
A mere could kill with a single sharp blow.
Note
- 6To decide exactly where a boundary line runs and show it on a map.
- 7An old spelling of mayor, a town's chief officer, or of mair, a title for certain officials in Scotland's past.
Showing meanings only.
Practice
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Origins
From Latin "merus" meaning "pure" or "unmixed," which came into English through Old French. It may have been mixed with an Old English word meaning "famous" or "splendid."
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 4 facts
- The word derives from Latin merus, meaning pure or unmixed. en.wiktionary.org
- The Latin word reached English through Old French. en.wiktionary.org
- The borrowed word may have merged with a word inherited from Old English. en.wiktionary.org
- The Old English word meant famous or splendid. en.wiktionary.org
From Old English "mǣre" meaning "boundary" or "limit."
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 1 fact
- The boundary noun derives from Old English mǣre, meaning boundary or limit. en.wiktionary.org
From Old English "mere" meaning "lake" or "pool," and in poetry "sea."
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
- Mere derives from Old English mere. en.wiktionary.org
- Old English mere meant lake or pool and could mean sea in poetry. en.wiktionary.org
Borrowed from Maori "mere."
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 1 fact
- English mere (the weapon) was borrowed from Māori mere. en.wiktionary.org