mud

American  

[muhd] / mʌd /

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.

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

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

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verb (used with object)

mudded, mudding

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)

mudded, mudding

1. to hide in or burrow into mud.

mud British  

/ 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

3. informal not at all clear

4. to disgrace or defame someone

5. informal a humorous drinking toast

6. informal someone is disgraced

7. informal to slander; vilify

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verb

1. (tr) to soil or cover with mud

mud Idioms  

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

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Other Word Forms

• unmudded adjective

Etymology

Origin of mud

1300–50; Middle English mudde, mode < Middle Low German mudde. mother ²

Example Sentences

Residents described water rising to waist level in just hours — overwhelming properties that had never flooded before and leaving behind a thick layer of mud and debris.

From Salon • Mar. 22, 2026

Those roles sometimes conflict — as they did at Lake Mendocino, which dried to a mud puddle during the 2012–16 drought.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 21, 2026

From these narrow scraps grew “The Star of Redemption,” an audacious 1921 book conceived under fire that asks what remains of love—both human and divine—after war has marched a continent into the mud.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 6, 2026

Adams, 63, who has been contacted for comment, said in October that her name had been "dragged through the mud" and that the corporation had not given her the details of the allegations.

From BBC • Feb. 28, 2026

There were Allun and Marlie, their faces still streaked with mud, shouting and laughing and pounding each other on the back.

From "Rowan of Rin" by Emily Rodda

Related Words

• clay
• muck
• silt
• sludge
• slush