Mire

An ant.

Deep mud; wet, spongy earth.

To cause or permit to stick fast in mire; to plunge or fix in mud; as, to mire a horse or wagon.

To soil with mud or foul matter.

To stick in mire.

a soft wet area of low-lying land that sinks underfoot

a difficulty or embarrassment that is hard to extricate yourself from; "the country is still trying to climb out of the mire left by its previous president"; "caught in the mire of poverty"