moor1
/mɔː
/ /mʊə /noun chiefly British
1A tract of open uncultivated upland, typically covered with heather: a little town in the moors...
- This wide extent of habitats includes upland moors, grassy or boggy open areas in forests and damp grasslands and traditionally managed hayfields particularly in river valleys.
- I was dreaming of gardens of primrose and moors covered with heather and cottages with honeysuckle over the door.
- Its landscape of mountains, rugged cliffs, lakes, moors, beaches and bays are ideal for a week's swimming, canoeing, boating, fishing and walking.
Synonyms
upland, moorland, heath, plateau;
British fell, wold;
grouse moor
1.1A moor preserved for shooting: a grouse moor...
- Game keepers keep predators in check and manage the moors to preserve habitats of many species which are in sharp decline nationally, research suggests.
- Grouse-shooting on the Yorkshire moors on the Glorious Twelfth the following day would be cautious, with landowners anxious to preserve stocks.
- Goathland was popular with wealthy visitors from the West Riding who came for grouse shooting, walks on the moors and the golf course, which was then laid out on the village green, with drives across many of the roads.
1.2US or dialect A fen.
Origin
Old English mōr, of Germanic origin.
Rhymes
moor2
/mɔː/ /mʊə /verb [with object]
Make fast (a boat) by attaching it by cable or rope to the shore or to an anchor: twenty or so fishing boats were moored to the pierside [no object]: we moored alongside a jetty...
- He sees a market for Americans to moor their boats in Mexico year round as well as transient boaters.
- Similar licences were granted to a number of individual owners to place moorings and to moor boats at various locations in the same general area.
- There is enough space at the venue for 550 limousines, quay space to moor yachts and a heli-pad nearby.
Synonyms
tie up, secure, make fast, fix firmly, fasten, anchor, berth, dock;
lash, hitch
Derivatives
moorage
/ /ˈmʊərɪdʒ / noun ...- For ordinary boaters who just enjoyed a quiet cruise, moorage space at other marinas and clubs was not available for some years into the future, including dry berthing.
- The development would be maritime themed with a public pier and provide canoe and kayak rentals, a sailing school and temporary moorage for boats.
- The Bay's mouth faces directly into the prevailing wind and swell, so that comfortable moorage for small visiting craft is restricted to tiny Radio Bay in the northeast corner.
Origin
Late Middle English: probably from the Germanic base of Dutch meren.
Moor3
/mɔː/ /mʊə /noun
A member of a NW African Muslim people of mixed Berber and Arab descent. In the 8th century they conquered the Iberian peninsula, but were finally driven out of their last stronghold in Granada at the end of the 15th century.Spain does not deny its occupation by the Muslim Moors....
- His dynastic heritage was firmly based on the intolerant expulsion of both the Jews and the Moors from Spain in 1492.
- When the Moors conquered most of the known world in the eighth century, they used a special technique to aid their cause.
Origin
From Old French More, via Latin from Greek Mauros 'inhabitant of Mauretania'.