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
Located about an hour outside of New York City, this state school has trained Stanley Tucci, Edie Falco and recent breakout James Ortiz, the voice and puppeteer of Rocky in Project Hail Mary.
—Caitlin Huston, HollywoodReporter, 25 May 2026
Overall, the movie was +45% ahead of Project Hail Mary and +36% ahead of Solo in Latin America.
—Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 25 May 2026
Outside of her work in Project Hail Mary, Hüller received an Academy Award nomination in 2024 for her leading performance in the movie Anatomy of a Fall.
—Tommy McArdle, PEOPLE, 20 May 2026
All of this feels like a bit of a Hail Mary from Bungie, adding a PvE mode a season and a half after the launch of Marathon, which was always pitched as a high-level PvPvE game.
—Paul Tassi, Forbes.com, 16 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for Hail Mary
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Caitlin Huston, HollywoodReporter, 25 May 2026
Overall, the movie was +45% ahead of Project Hail Mary and +36% ahead of Solo in Latin America.
—Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 25 May 2026
Outside of her work in Project Hail Mary, Hüller received an Academy Award nomination in 2024 for her leading performance in the movie Anatomy of a Fall.
—Tommy McArdle, PEOPLE, 20 May 2026
All of this feels like a bit of a Hail Mary from Bungie, adding a PvE mode a season and a half after the launch of Marathon, which was always pitched as a high-level PvPvE game.
—Paul Tassi, Forbes.com, 16 May 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 May. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
