Hail Mary

[heyl mer-ee, mair-ee] / ˈheɪl ˈmɛr i, ˈmɛər i /

NOUN

last-ditch effort

Synonyms

WEAK

Ave Maria Hail Mary pass Hail Mary play ave last-minute pass

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

“With the last $20,000, as a Hail Mary, we created and launched Subway Takes,” says Kuo, who produces the show.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 12, 2026

I experienced disruption a few weeks ago while watching Ryan Gosling's sci-fi movie, Project Hail Mary, at a cinema in London.

From BBC • Apr. 24, 2026

The plaintiffs then filed a Hail Mary request with the Supreme Court to intervene before the D.C.

From Slate • Apr. 21, 2026

The mustachioed brothers of "The Super Mario Galaxy Movie" and Ryan Gosling's unassuming teacher-turned-astronaut in "Project Hail Mary" are civilization-saving heroes in their own worlds.

From Barron's • Apr. 10, 2026

It was a long shot, but at this point it was a shot, and sometimes you had to make the Hail Mary play.

From "Time Bomb" by Joelle Charbonneau