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
Books like ‘Project Hail Mary’ Earth-saving expeditions.
—Clare Mulroy, USA Today, 24 Mar. 2026
Project Hail Mary has now been given the silver-screen treatment, too.
—Tim Brinkhof, Big Think, 24 Mar. 2026
And Project Hail Mary is basically, sort of, a little bit, a Star Wars movie?
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 24 Mar. 2026
In the novel, which comes complete with a handy visualization of the spacecraft, The Hail Mary looks almost like an oversized version of a cartoon rocket ship, with only three rooms and a storage area all stacked on top of each other.
—Matthew Razak, Space.com, 23 Mar. 2026
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Clare Mulroy, USA Today, 24 Mar. 2026
Project Hail Mary has now been given the silver-screen treatment, too.
—Tim Brinkhof, Big Think, 24 Mar. 2026
And Project Hail Mary is basically, sort of, a little bit, a Star Wars movie?
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 24 Mar. 2026
In the novel, which comes complete with a handy visualization of the spacecraft, The Hail Mary looks almost like an oversized version of a cartoon rocket ship, with only three rooms and a storage area all stacked on top of each other.
—Matthew Razak, Space.com, 23 Mar. 2026
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 27 Mar. 2026.
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