mere

1
[ meer ]
See synonyms for: meremerestmeres on Thesaurus.com

adjective,superlative mer·est.
  1. being nothing more nor better than: a mere pittance;He is still a mere child.

  2. Obsolete.

    • pure and unmixed, as wine, a people, or a language.

    • fully as much as what is specified; completely fulfilled or developed; absolute.

Origin of mere

1
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English mer(e) “pure, clear, unmixed,” from Old French mier, mer, from Latin merus “pure, unmixed, simple, mere”

synonym study For mere

1. Mere, bare imply a scant sufficiency. They are often interchangeable, but mere frequently means no more than (enough). Bare suggests scarcely as much as (enough). Thus a mere livelihood means enough to live on but no more; a bare livelihood means scarcely enough to live on.

Words that may be confused with mere

Words Nearby mere

Other definitions for mere (2 of 5)

mere2
[ meer ]

noun
  1. Chiefly British Dialect. a lake or pond.

  2. Obsolete. any body of sea water.

Origin of mere

2
First recorded before 900; Middle English mere, mer, meire, Old English mer, mære “sea, ocean, lake, pond, well, cistern,” cognate with German Meer, Old Norse marr, Gothic marei, Old Irish muir, Latin mare

Other definitions for mere (3 of 5)

mere3

or mear

[ meer ]

nounBritish Dialect.
  1. a boundary or boundary marker.

Origin of mere

3
First recorded before 900; Middle English mere, mer, merre, Old English mǣre, gemǣre; cognate with Old Norse mæri “boundary, border land”; akin to Latin mūrus “defensive wall, city wall, boundary wall”

Other definitions for -mere (4 of 5)

-mere

  1. a combining form meaning “part,” used in the formation of compound words: blastomere.

Origin of -mere

4
Combining form representing Greek méros

Other definitions for mère (5 of 5)

mère
[ mer; English mair ]

noun,plural mères [mer; English mairz]. /mɛr; English mɛərz/. French.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use mere in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for mere (1 of 5)

mere1

/ (mɪə) /


adjectivesuperlative merest
  1. being nothing more than something specified: she is a mere child

Origin of mere

1
C15: from Latin merus pure, unmixed

British Dictionary definitions for mere (2 of 5)

mere2

/ (mɪə) /


noun
  1. archaic, or dialect a lake or marsh

  2. obsolete the sea or an inlet of it

Origin of mere

2
Old English mere sea, lake; related to Old Saxon meri sea, Old Norse marr, Old High German mari; compare Latin mare

British Dictionary definitions for mere (3 of 5)

mere3

/ (mɪə) /


noun
  1. archaic a boundary or boundary marker

Origin of mere

3
Old English gemǣre

British Dictionary definitions for mere (4 of 5)

mere4

/ (ˈmɛrɪ) /


noun
  1. NZ a short flat striking weapon

Origin of mere

4
Māori

British Dictionary definitions for -mere (5 of 5)

-mere

n combining form
  1. indicating a part or division: blastomere

Origin of -mere

5
from Greek meros part, portion

Derived forms of -mere

  • -meric, adj combining form

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for -mere

-mere

  1. A suffix meaning “part” or “segment,” as in blastomere, one of the cells that form a blastula.

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