march

¹

[ mahrch ]

verb (used without object)

1. to walk with regular and measured tread, as soldiers on parade; advance in step in an organized body.
2. to walk in a stately, deliberate manner:

   The graduates marched to the front of the auditorium to the music of “Pomp and Circumstance.”

3. to engage in a procession organized as a demonstration of protest or support (sometimes followed by on ):

   During the trade talks, thousands marched in support of farmers and the farming industry.

   Municipal workers marched on city hall to protest cuts in garbage collection.

4. to move aggressively toward a place in preparation for confrontation or battle (followed by on ):

   The angry mob marched on the Bastille.

5. to go forward; advance; proceed:

   Time marches on.

verb (used with object)

1. to cause to march:

   He marched his troops along the Niagara River toward Buffalo.

noun

1. the act or course of marching.
2. the distance covered in a single period of marching:

   The edge of the desert is three days' march away.

3. forward movement; advance; progress:

   The unrestrained march of science and technology may have some alarming social consequences.

4. a piece of music with a rhythm suited to accompany marching.
5. a procession organized as a demonstration of protest or support:

   There were antiwar marches in major cities across the nation.

   On July 29 there will be a march for universal healthcare.

March

²

[ mahrch ]

noun

1. the third month of the year, containing 31 days. : Mar.

march

³

[ mahrch ]

noun

1. a tract of land along a border of a country; frontier.
2. marches, the border districts between England and Scotland, or England and Wales.

verb (used without object)

1. to touch at the border; border.

March

⁴

[ mahrch mahrkh ]

noun

1. Francis Andrew, 1825–1911, U.S. philologist and lexicographer.
2. Fredric Frederick McIntyre Bickel, 1897–1975, U.S. actor.
3. Pey·ton Con·way [peyt, -n , kon, -wey], 1864–1955, U.S. army officer (son of Francis Andrew March).
4. German name of the Morava.

March.

⁵

abbreviation for

1. Marchioness.

M.Arch.

⁶

abbreviation for

1. Master of Architecture.

march

¹

/ mɑːtʃ /

noun

1. Also calledmarchland a frontier, border, or boundary or the land lying along it, often of disputed ownership

verb

1. intr; often foll by upon or with to share a common border (with)

MArch

²

abbreviation for

1. Master of Architecture

March

³

/ març /

noun

1. See Morava
   the German name for the Morava

March.

⁴

abbreviation for

1. Marchioness

march

⁵

/ mɑːtʃ /

verb

1. intr to walk or proceed with stately or regular steps, usually in a procession or military formation
2. tr to make (a person or group) proceed

   he marched his army to the town

3. tr to traverse or cover by marching

   to march a route

noun

1. the act or an instance of marching
2. a regular stride

   a slow march

3. a long or exhausting walk
4. advance; progression (of time, etc)
5. a distance or route covered by marching
6. a piece of music, usually in four beats to the bar, having a strongly accented rhythm
7. steal a march on
   steal a march on to gain an advantage over, esp by a secret or underhand enterprise

March

⁶

/ mɑːtʃ /

noun

1. the third month of the year, consisting of 31 days

Derived Forms

• ˈmarcher, noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of march¹

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English marchen, from Middle French marcher, Old French marchi(e)r “to tread, move,” from Frankish markōn (unattested) presumably, “to mark, pace out (a boundary)”; mark ¹

Origin of march²

before 1050; Middle English March ( e ) < Anglo-French Marche; replacing Old English Martius < Latin, short for Mārtius mēnsis month of Mars ( Mārti-, stem of Mārs + -us adj. suffix)

Origin of march³

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English march(e), from Anglo-French, Old French, from Germanic; compare Old English gemearc, Gothic marka “boundary”; mark ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of march¹

C13: from Old French marche, from Germanic; related to mark ¹

Origin of march²

C16: from Old French marchier to tread, probably of Germanic origin; compare Old English mearcian to mark ¹

Origin of march³

from Old French, from Latin Martius (month) of Mars

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. on the march, moving ahead; progressing; advancing:

   Automation is on the march.

2. steal a march on, to gain an advantage over, especially secretly or slyly.

More idioms and phrases containing march

In addition to the idiom beginning with march , also see steal a march on .

Example Sentences

Then its Work from Home Challenge was created once the pandemic took effect in March.

From Digiday

Blake’s father will speak at Sharpton’s March on Washington commemoration on Friday, Noerdlinger said.

From Fortune

Just last week we were cheering a weekly jobless claims number that came in below 1 million for the first time since March.

From Fortune

Then came the big selloff that sank the S&P by around 35% in March.

From Fortune

By Jeanniey Walden, Chief Innovation & Marketing Officer, DailyPay In March, everything changed in an instant.

From Digiday

I was pregnant, uncomfortably so, for the first time and with twins, due the following March.

From The Daily Beast

Last March they gave Airbus a huge piece of new business, ordering 169 A320s and 65 of the slightly larger A321.

From The Daily Beast

Her focus would be on the three months, January through March 1965, that gave birth to the Voting Rights Act.

From The Daily Beast

The NYPD Emerald Society pipes and drums struck up a slow march and the procession began the journey to the cemetery.

From The Daily Beast

In March, police arrested a group of wealthy businessmen and government officials who were about to dine on illegal tiger meat.

From The Daily Beast

In less than ten minutes, the bivouac was broken up, and our little army on the march.

From Project Gutenberg

Nothing remarkable occurred in our march through this country.

From Project Gutenberg

Genoa has but recently and partially felt the new impulse, yet even here the march of improvement is visible.

From Project Gutenberg

Then with your victorious legions you can march south and help drive the Yankee invaders from the land.

From Project Gutenberg

While they were doing this, he assembled the officers around him, and the meaning of our night march was explained to us.

From Project Gutenberg

More About March

What happens in March?

March is the third month of the year. It follows February and is followed by April. It has 31 days.

March is notable because it is one of the two times a year when an equinox occurs. Around March 20–21, the vernal equinox marks the beginning of spring in the Northern Hemisphere and the autumnal equinox marks the beginning of fall in the Southern Hemisphere. (The reverse happens around September 22–23.)

In places where spring begins in March, the proverb March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb is used to refer to the fact that the month often begins with harsh winter weather that eventually gives way to mild spring weather.

In the U.S., March also includes the day on which people in many places adjust their clocks for daylight-saving time by setting them an hour later.

March is Women’s History Month and March 8 is International Women’s Day. In the U.S., St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated on March 17.

The U.S. college basketball tournament known as March Madness starts in March.

The word march is also a common word meaning “to walk in a military formation” or “to walk in a purposeful way.” It’s not related to the name of the month.

Example: We had a blizzard last week and now people are walking around in shorts—that’s March weather for you.

Where does March come from?

The first records of the word March as the name of a month come from before 1050. It comes from the Latin Mārtius mēnsis, meaning “the month of Mars,” referring to the Roman god of war. The months of January and May are also named after Roman deities.

The ancient Roman calendar originally began with the month we call March—March 1 was the first day of the year. Eventually, two additional months—what we now call January and February—were added so that the months would fall during the same seasons each year.

In ancient Rome, March marked the start of the military campaign season. However, the word march in the sense of walking in a military formation or in some other purposeful way is not actually related to the name of the month. The word march in the walking sense comes from the Old French marchier, “to tread,” possibly from the Frankish markōn, meaning “to mark or pace”—it’s not based on or related to Mars.

In astrology, the sign Pisces applies to those born between February 19 and March 20. The sign Aries applies to those born between March 21 and April 19.

 

Discover more to the story behind the word March, by reading our article on the name’s fascinating history.

Did you know ... ?

What are some other forms related to March?

• Marches (plural)
• Mar (abbreviation)
• Mar. (abbreviation)

What are some words that share a root or word element with March? 

• March Madness
• March hare
• Mars

What are some words that often get used in discussing March?

• third
• month
• calendar
• spring
• winter
• weather
• spring break
• equinox

How is March used in real life?

In places where spring begins in March, the month is often associated with its wide range of weather. Sports fans in the U.S. know it as the month that March Madness begins.

“The weather in March is a lot like me,” declares Elizabeth in E. L. Konigsburg’s children’s book Jennifer, Hecate, Macbeth, William McKinley, and Me, Elizabeth. “Nice for one day and then nasty for two.”

— sparkling plum (@chivofantasma_) July 19, 2020

Guess what….?
IT IS MARCH!

— NCAA March Madness (@marchmadness) March 1, 2018

March is the best month of the year. March Madness, Spring Break and St. Pattys Day. What more could you ask for?

— Ronald Boyd III (@Brandon_Boyd29) March 1, 2017

 

Try using March!

Which mythological figure is March named after?

A. Mercury
B. Mars
C. Maia
D. Madne