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
Douglas Cote, quoted in BicyclingExamples of Hail Mary in a Sentence
He threw up a Hail Mary at the end of the first half.
Recent Examples on the Web
Ireland’s Richard Bolger and Conor Barry of Hail Mary co-produced.
—Alex Ritman, Variety, 6 June 2025
But the farming community decided to throw the Hail Mary, and collected thousands of signatures in an attempt to hit the cutoff.
—Christine Condon, Baltimore Sun, 6 June 2025
Rodgers even had an uncanny ability to connect on Hail Mary throws.
—Andrew Greif, NBC news, 5 June 2025
Johnson didn’t address Hail Mary with Tyrique Stevenson.
—Sean Hammond, Chicago Tribune, 5 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for Hail Mary
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Alex Ritman, Variety, 6 June 2025
But the farming community decided to throw the Hail Mary, and collected thousands of signatures in an attempt to hit the cutoff.
—Christine Condon, Baltimore Sun, 6 June 2025
Rodgers even had an uncanny ability to connect on Hail Mary throws.
—Andrew Greif, NBC news, 5 June 2025
Johnson didn’t address Hail Mary with Tyrique Stevenson.
—Sean Hammond, Chicago Tribune, 5 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for Hail Mary
Cite this Entry
“Hail Mary.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Hail%20Mary. Accessed 12 Jun. 2025.
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