Mire usually means thick, deep mud or a difficult situation that is hard to escape from, and it can be used both literally and figuratively.

Basic meaning of “mire”

  • As a noun, mire is:
    • Deep, wet, sticky earth such as a bog, marsh, or swampy ground.
* Heavy or deep mud or slush that you can sink into.

* Figuratively, a messy or unpleasant situation that is hard to get out of, like a “mire of debt” or “mire of scandal”.
  • As a verb, to mire means:
    • To cause something to get stuck in mud or wet ground.
* Figuratively, to entangle or trap someone or something in problems or difficulty (for example, “mired in controversy”).

Common ways people use it

  • Literal uses:
    • “The truck was stuck in the mire after the storm.”
* “The wheels sank deeper into the mire.”
  • Figurative uses:
    • “The government is mired in corruption scandals.”
* “They found themselves in a mire of debt.”

In modern forums and news, “mire” most often appears in that figurative sense: someone or something is mired in problems, controversy, bureaucracy, or debt.