march

/mɑrtʃ/

/mɑtʃ/

Other forms: marched; marching; marches

To march is to walk with deliberate, short steps that fall in a regular rhythm. You can take your time walking into school in the morning, or you can march right up the steps and through the door.

People can march just about anywhere they walk, although the verb brings to mind military processions of soldiers who march in unison. Marching bands are another example of people who march together this way. You can also use the word when you're talking about a group of demonstrators who decide to march in protest or support of a particular cause. March comes from the Middle French word marcher, which originally meant "to trample," and later came to mean "to walk."

Definitions of march

1. verb

   walk fast, with regular or measured steps; walk with a stride
   “He marched into the classroom and announced the exam”

   “The soldiers marched across the border”

   types:

   troop

   move or march as if in a crowd

   type of:

   walk

   use one's feet to advance; advance by steps
2. verb

   march in a procession
   synonyms: process

   types:

   file

   proceed in line

   parade, promenade, troop

   march in a procession

   goose step

   march in a military fashion

   countermarch

   march back along the same way

   debouch, march out

   march out (as from a defile) into open ground

   type of:

   walk

   use one's feet to advance; advance by steps
3. verb

   march in protest; take part in a demonstration
   synonyms: demonstrate

   types:

   picket

   take part in a strike or protest

   type of:

   dissent, protest, resist

   express opposition through action or words
4. verb

   cause to march or go at a marching pace
   “They marched the mules into the desert”

   type of:

   walk

   make walk
5. verb

   force to march
   “The Japanese marched their prisoners through Manchuria”

   types:

   frogmarch

   march a person against his will by any method

   type of:

   walk

   accompany or escort
6. verb

   walk ostentatiously
   synonyms: exhibit, parade

   type of:

   walk

   make walk
7. noun

   the act of marching; walking with regular steps (especially in a procession of some kind)
   “it was a long march”

   “we heard the sound of marching”

   synonyms: marching

   types:

   countermarch

   (military) a march in the reverse direction or back along the same route

   goose step

   a manner of marching with legs straight and swinging high

   lockstep

   a manner of marching in file in which each person's leg moves with and behind the corresponding leg of the person ahead

   promenade

   a march of all the guests at the opening of a formal dance

   quick march

   marching at quick time

   routemarch

   a long training march for troops

   type of:

   walk, walking

   the act of traveling by foot
8. noun

   a procession of people walking together
   “the march went up Fifth Avenue”

   types:

   hunger march

   a march of protest or demonstration by the unemployed

   type of:

   procession

   the group action of a collection of people or animals or vehicles moving ahead in more or less regular formation
9. noun

   genre of music written for marching
   “Sousa wrote the best marches”

   synonyms: marching music

   types:

   martial music, military march, military music

   brisk marching music suitable for troops marching in a military parade

   processional march, recessional march

   a march to be played for processions

   quickstep

   military march accompanying quick time

   pibroch

   martial music with variations; to be played by bagpipes

   dead march, funeral march

   a slow march to be played for funeral processions

   wedding march

   a march to be played for a wedding procession

   type of:

   genre, music genre, musical genre, musical style

   an expressive style of music
10. noun

    a steady advance
    “the march of science”

    “the march of time”

    type of:

    advance, advancement, forward motion, onward motion, procession, progress, progression

    the act of moving forward (as toward a goal)
11. noun

    district consisting of the area on either side of a border or boundary of a country or an area
    “the Welsh marches between England and Wales”

    synonyms: border district, borderland, marchland

    type of:

    district, dominion, territorial dominion, territory

    a region marked off for administrative or other purposes
12. verb

    lie adjacent to another or share a boundary
    “England marches with Scotland”

    synonyms: abut, adjoin, border, butt, butt against, butt on, edge

    types:

    neighbor, neighbour

    be located near or adjacent to

    type of:

    adjoin, contact, meet, touch

    be in direct physical contact with; make contact