Definition of MOOR

moor

Plural: moors

Noun

  • one of the Muslim people of north Africa; of mixed Arab and Berber descent; converted to Islam in the 8th century; conqueror of Spain in the 8th century
  • open land usually with peaty soil covered with heather and bracken and moss
  • An extensive waste covered with patches of heath, and having a poor, light (and usually acidic) soil, but sometimes marshy, and abounding in peat; a heath. (Compare bog, peatland, marsh, swamp, fen.)
  • A game preserve consisting of moorland.

Verb

Verb Forms: moored, mooring, moors

  • To secure a vessel in place with ropes or cables.
  • secure in or as if in a berth or dock
  • come into or dock at a wharf
  • secure with cables or ropes
    • "moor the boat"
  • To cast anchor or become fastened.
  • To fix or secure (e.g. a vessel) in a particular place by casting anchor, or by fastening with ropes, cables or chains or the like.
  • To secure or fix firmly.

Examples

  • A cold, biting wind blew across the moor, and the travellers hastened their step.
  • He tried to ’MOOR’ his small words to the triple letter score, but couldn’t reach.
  • In her girlish age, she kept sheep on the moor.
  • The vessel moored in the stream.
  • They moored the boat to the wharf.

Origin / Etymology

From Middle English mor, from Old English mōr, from Proto-West Germanic *mōr, from Proto-Germanic *mōraz, from Proto-Indo-European *móri. Cognates include Welsh môr, Old Irish muir (from Proto-Celtic *mori); Scots muir, Dutch moer, Old Saxon mōr, Old Saxon mūr, German Moor and perhaps also Gothic 𐌼𐌰𐍂𐌴𐌹 (marei). See mere.

Synonyms

berth, moorland, tie up, wharf

Antonyms

unmoor

Scrabble Score: 6

moor: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
moor: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
moor: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 7

moor: valid Words With Friends Word