mare

Everyday

1. A female horse, donkey or zebra, especially an adult one. tree →
2. (astronomy) A large, dark, flat area on the Moon, once thought to be a sea; plural «maria». tree →
3. (UK slang, from «nightmare») A terrible or annoying situation: «It was a right mare getting here». tree →

In the lessons

In science and farm topics, a mare is a female horse; a male is a stallion, and a baby is a foal. In astronomy, the dark patches on the Moon are «maria», like the Sea of Tranquillity (Mare Tranquillitatis), where Apollo 11 landed. In UK slang, «a mare» or «a nightmare» is a really bad time. Phrases: «a mare and her foal», «having a mare» (UK slang: doing very badly).

Examples

• The mare stood in the field with her new foal. tree →
• A female horse is called a mare. tree →
• Apollo 11 landed in a mare called the Sea of Tranquillity. tree →
• The dark patches on the Moon are called maria. tree →
• (slang, UK) The traffic was a total mare this morning. tree →
• (slang, UK) Our goalie had a mare and let in five goals. tree →
• The farmer has three mares and one stallion. tree →
• The grey mare jumped the fence easily. tree →
• Why, this is no horse, but a mare. tree →

Note

Countable: one mare, two mares. The Moon sense is pronounced «MAH-ray», plural «maria». Do not confuse with «mayor» (a town leader, sounds the same in some accents) or «mere». The slang «mare» is short for «nightmare» – informal, not for writing tests.