/mɑːtʃ/, /mɑɹt͡ʃ/
OriginFrom Middle English marchen, from Middle French marcher (“to march, walk”), from Old French marchier (“to stride, to march, to trample”), from Frankish *markōn (“to mark, mark out, to press with the foot”), from Proto-Germanic *markōną (“to mark”). Akin to Old English mearc, ġemearc (“mark, boundary”). Compare mark, from Old English mearcian.
- A formal, rhythmic way of walking, used especially by soldiers, by bands, and in ceremonies.
- A journey so walked.
- A political rally or parade.
“Mr. Nelson covered the Selma-to-Montgomery freedom marches, including Bloody Sunday, on March 7, 1965, when 600 marchers were attacked with billy clubs and tear gas.”
- Any song in the genre of music written for marching (see Wikipedia's article on this type of music)
- Steady forward movement or progression.
- The feat of taking all the tricks of a hand.
- archaic, historical, often, pluralA border region, especially one originally set up to defend a boundary.
“Juan's companion was a Romagnole, / But bred within the March of old Ancona[…].”
- historicalA region at a frontier governed by a marquess.
- obsoleteSmallage.
- intransitiveTo walk with long, regular strides, as a soldier does.
“The column marching in double file, the instructor commands: […]”
- transitiveTo cause someone to walk somewhere.
“The old man heaved himself from the chair, seized Jessamy by her pinafore frill and marched her to the house.”
- To go to war; to make military advances.
“The armies drawing constantly nearer to each other, the king advised with his council, whether he should march against the Britons, or sall upon the count of Gharolois.”
- figurativelyTo make steady progress.
“Some say history repeats itself, that time is cyclical. Others cling to the notion of progress and change over time. Apparently Nancy Walker marches to a different drummer — marches backwards, that is”
- intransitiveTo have common borders or frontiers
- uncountable, usuallyThe third month of the Gregorian calendar, following February and preceding April, containing the northward equinox.
“Holonyms: calendar year; year”
“And on March 21, Virginia passed a law banning colorants from school food, effective July 1, 2027.”
- uncountable, usuallyA surname from Middle English for someone born in March, or for someone living near a boundary (marche).
- uncommon, uncountable, usuallyA male given name from English.
““Kendall told me about a man named March Flack. A radio actor who disappeared years ago. I assumed that was here.””
“Alexander Garden Jr., the long-serving rector of South Carolina's St. Thomas parish, twice advertised in 1747 to offer a reward for the return of an enslaved Igbo man named March, who had run away fro”
“However, Patty seems to have been the only one of more than seventy slaves at Ossabaw Island who did not perform some duty on the plantation, which is evidence that elderly and disabled slaves were in”
- uncountable, usuallyA locality in the Cabonne council area, central New South Wales, Australia.
- uncountable, usuallyA market town and civil parish with a town council in Fenland district, Cambridgeshire, England (OS grid ref TL4196).
- uncountable, usuallyA municipality near Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.
- uncountable, usuallyAn unincorporated community in Marshall County, Minnesota, United States.
- uncountable, usuallyAn unincorporated community in Dallas County, Missouri, United States, named after the month.
Formsmarches(plural) · marches(present, singular, third-person) · marching(participle, present) · marched(participle, past) · marched(past) · Marches(plural)