Hail Mary

noun

plural Hail Marys

1

: a Roman Catholic prayer to the Virgin Mary that consists of salutations and a plea for her intercession

2

or less commonly Hail Mary pass : a long forward pass in football thrown into or near the end zone in a last-ditch attempt to score as time runs out

—often used figuratively

The only potential cure is a stem-cell transplant, when you take somebody else's immune system and put it into yours. But right now that's kind of a Hail Mary pass.

—Douglas Cote, quoted in Bicycling

Examples of Hail Mary in a Sentence

He threw up a Hail Mary at the end of the first half.

Recent Examples on the Web

How 17 seconds turned into a devastating Hail Mary loss for the Chicago Bears. —Dan Wiederer, Chicago Tribune, 29 Oct. 2024

The Commanders are no longer big underdogs, and millions of fans and bettors had a similar reaction to Commanders head coach Dan Quinn’s in his moment of joy, and even disbelief as the Hail Mary was answered in Washington. —Jay Ginsbach, Forbes, 28 Oct. 2024

And in the most dramatic of finishes, the rookie phenom’s heaved pass towards the endzone was tipped by a huddle of players right into the waiting hands of Noah Brown for a 52-yard walk-off Hail Mary touchdown and 18-15 victory for the Commanders. —Ben Morse, CNN, 28 Oct. 2024

On the final play of the game, the Bears simply had to knock down a Hail Mary pass attempt to keep pace in the division. —Dane Mizutani, Twin Cities, 28 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

translation of Medieval Latin Ave, Maria, from the opening words

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

Hail Mary

noun

-ˈme(ə)r-ē,

-ˈma(ə)r-ē,

-ˈmā-rē

: a Roman Catholic prayer to the Virgin Mary