mud

[ muhd ]
See synonyms for mud on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. wet, soft earth or earthy matter, as on the ground after rain, at the bottom of a pond, or along the banks of a river; mire.

  2. Informal. scandalous or malicious assertions or information: The opposition threw a lot of mud at our candidate.

  1. Slang. brewed coffee, especially when strong or bitter.

  2. a mixture of chemicals and other substances pumped into a drilling rig chiefly as a lubricant for the bit and shaft.

verb (used with object),mud·ded, mud·ding.
  1. to cover, smear, or spatter with mud: to mud the walls of a hut.

  2. to stir up the mud or sediment in: waders mudding the clear water.

verb (used without object),mud·ded, mud·ding.
  1. to hide in or burrow into mud.

Origin of mud

1
1300–50; Middle English mudde, mode<Middle Low German mudde.Cf. mother2

Other words from mud

  • un·mud·ded, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use mud in a sentence

  • Following the application of cold packs, the use of a poultice such as some of the sterile, medicated muds, is of marked benefit.

    Lameness of the Horse | John Victor Lacroix
  • We are all coated with the most adhesive of muds, the fineness of the grain rendering it difficult to remove from the clothes.

    The houseboat book | William F. Waugh
  • The epicontinental sea was shoaled and narrowed, and muds were washed in from the adjacent lands.

    The Elements of Geology | William Harmon Norton
  • At intervals muds were laid down which later became consolidated into rocks known as "shales" and "argillites."

    Glacier National Park [Montana] | United States Dept. of the Interior
  • The valley at its upper end spreads out like the fingers of a hand, as the gullies in tide-muds do.

    The Chautauquan, Vol. III, March 1883 | The Chautauquan Literary and Scientific Circle

British Dictionary definitions for mud

mud

/ (mʌd) /


noun
  1. a fine-grained soft wet deposit that occurs on the ground after rain, at the bottom of ponds, lakes, etc

  2. informal slander or defamation

  1. clear as mud informal not at all clear

  2. drag someone's name in the mud to disgrace or defame someone

  3. here's mud in your eye informal a humorous drinking toast

  4. someone's name is mud informal someone is disgraced

  5. throw mud at or sling mud at informal to slander; vilify

verbmuds, mudding or mudded
  1. (tr) to soil or cover with mud

Origin of mud

1
C14: probably from Middle Low German mudde; compare Middle High German mot swamp, mud, Swedish modd slush

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with mud

mud

see clear as mud; name is mud; sling mud at.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.