mire
/ˈmaɪɚ/noun, verb
mire is spelled M-I-R-E: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 39,832nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, mire means “Deep mud; moist, spongy earth” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of mire is mires.
How many letters and syllables are in mire?
| Letters | 4: M-I-R-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 39,832nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is mire?
Mire appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 39,832nd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce mire?
- UK /ˈmaɪə/
- US /ˈmaɪɚ/
- US /ˈmaɪɹ/
Mire has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-mire.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with mire?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as mire from its last stressed vowel (/aɪəɹ/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: emir, rime, reim.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of mire
- mires plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- miring participle, present
- mired participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does mire mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Deep mud; moist, spongy earth.
- 2
A bog or fen; (in wetland science, specifically) a peatland which is actively forming peat, such as an active bog or fen.
- 3
An undesirable situation; a predicament.
- 4
obsoleterareAn ant.
verb
- 1
To cause or permit to become stuck in mud; to plunge or fix in mud.
to mire a horse or wagon
- 2
To sink into mud.
- 3
To weigh down.
- 4
To soil with mud or foul matter.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Mire in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | fange, bourbier , embourber, enliser |
| German | Morast, Schlamm, Matsch , einsinken , feststecken |
| Portuguese | lama, lodo, barro |
| Spanish | barrizal, lodazal, lamedal, fangal, fanguero , empantanar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does mire come from?
From Middle English mire, a borrowing from Old Norse mýrr, from Proto-Germanic *miuzijō, whence also Swedish myr, Norwegian myr, Icelandic mýri, Dutch *mier (in placenames, for example Mierlo). Related to Proto-Germanic *meusą, whence Old English mēos, and Proto-Germanic *musą, whence Old English mos (English moss).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).