How to Use Hail Mary in a Sentence

Hail Mary

noun
  • He threw up a Hail Mary at the end of the first half.
  • Jokic targeted him with a Hail Mary pass that was intercepted at one point.
    Bennett Durando, The Denver Post, 4 Oct. 2024
  • Zoom in: Democrats now have no choice but to attempt a political Hail Mary: lean on a series of races with long odds but surprisingly narrow polling deficits.
    Noah Bressner, Axios, 27 Sep. 2024
  • Finding a Hail Mary dress wasn’t the end of the journey, though.
    Hannah Jackson, Vogue, 19 Dec. 2023
  • The Pats had to punt again, and the Jets had a chance for a Hail Mary with one second left.
    Ryan Morik, Fox News, 24 Sep. 2023
  • And Lordstown Motors was a Hail Mary play from the get-go.
    IEEE Spectrum, 2 June 2023
  • This is a total Hail Mary, as the band has been on hiatus for more than a year.
    Rory Appleton, The Indianapolis Star, 26 Jan. 2023
  • Like needing a Hail Mary for the Bucs to rise to the championship level.
    Barry Wilner, Star Tribune, 25 Jan. 2021
  • By episode’s end, not even a Hail Mary pitch to vote Anika out was able to save him from the wrath of Jeff’s torch snuffer.
    Nick Caruso, TVLine, 19 Sep. 2024
  • Both have since seen shares tumble and could be looking for a Hail Mary.
    Claire Rychlewski, Axios, 20 Sep. 2024
  • Staubach later tells reporters he got knocked down on the play, closed his eyes and said a Hail Mary.
    Iliana Limón Romero, Los Angeles Times, 28 Dec. 2023
  • But hey, if this is Warren’s Hail Mary to the Oscars, nothing’s gonna stop her.
    Vulture, 5 Jan. 2023
  • What looked like a Hail Mary to some, was actually the result of years of practice reps the two have shared.
    Timothy Dashiell, Baltimore Sun, 14 Sep. 2023
  • The move for Rich Hill, a rotational Hail Mary with his 13th team, has been a head scratcher.
    Bryce Miller, San Diego Union-Tribune, 14 Aug. 2023
  • This time, Williams completed a 13-yard throw to set up the ensuing Hail Mary with four ticks left.
    Rhiannon Walker, NPR, 25 Apr. 2024
  • Her latest project, Hail Mary, is a horror movie released in March 2023.
    Julie Tremaine, Peoplemag, 22 Oct. 2023
  • Kirk Cousins was trying to throw a Hail Mary to at least get into a position to tie the game and force overtime.
    Ryan Gaydos, Fox News, 9 Oct. 2023
  • Mercy nearly sent the game to overtime with a Hail Mary 3-pointer from Alyssa Murphy that bounced off the rim.
    J.l. Kirven, The Courier-Journal, 28 Jan. 2023
  • Advertisement This time, though, the old rhythms of Clinton’s career failed him; the Hail Mary pass went bouncing on the ground.
    John F. Harris, Washington Post, 5 July 2023
  • Lordstown Motors was a Hail Mary play from the beginning.
    IEEE Spectrum, 2 June 2023
  • At this juncture, the late storytelling becomes a kind of Hail Mary as the show introduces a few too many new rules.
    Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune, 9 July 2024
  • To prevent against the Hail Mary, Miami positioned three of its defensive backs all the way back on the 15.
    C. Isaiah Smalls Ii, Miami Herald, 30 Jan. 2024
  • Hurts threw one last Hail Mary on the Eagles' next and final drive, which landed incomplete and ended the game.
    Jordan Freiman, CBS News, 10 Feb. 2024
  • Love's Hail Mary attempt with 3 seconds remaining was picked off to end the comeback hopes.
    Andrew Birkle, Detroit Free Press, 4 June 2023
  • The Hail Mary attempt didn’t stand a chance, but officials whistled a shooting foul that sent Sander to the free throw line with three chances, needing one to win the game.
    Sam Cohn, Baltimore Sun, 5 Apr. 2024
  • Run defense woes still reared their ugly head at times, but the pass defense was as good as it’s been all season — save for that garbage time Hail Mary to end the game.
    John Owning, Dallas News, 21 Dec. 2020
  • The lower court quickly struck down that map too, and the Supreme Court rejected a Hail Mary appeal of that decision.
    Geoffrey Skelley, ABC News, 3 Oct. 2023
  • Seems as much of a Hail Mary as entrusting their team to a coach who has never previously coached.
    Dylan Hernández, Los Angeles Times, 25 June 2024
  • Loewenstein wouldn’t go as far as saying the latest pivot was a Hail Mary pass, but the startup needs a completion.
    WIRED, 9 Nov. 2023
  • Use their prop bet builder to construct Hail Mary wagers with just a few clicks or create same-game parlays that ride on a single lucky pass.
    Sponsored Content, The Mercury News, 11 Mar. 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'Hail Mary.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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