mutton
1 Americannoun
noun
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of mutton1
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English moton “sheep,” from Old French, from Celtic; compare Breton maout “wether,” Middle Irish molt, Welsh mollt
Origin of mutton2
First recorded in 1935–40; code term, coined to differentiate the pronunciation of em quad from en quad
Explanation
If you order mutton at a restaurant, you'll be served a kind of meat that comes from an adult sheep. It's not, however, very common to see mutton on a menu. Use mutton when you're talking about eating the flesh of a sheep. In the United States, it's more common to dine on lamb, which is meat that comes from a baby sheep, although mutton is a popular dish in other parts of the world. Mutton has been in use since the 13th century, from an Old French root word, moton, "mutton, ram, or sheep." In the 1860s, long sideburns called mutton chops were a popular style of facial hair.
Vocabulary lists containing mutton
St. Patrick's Day Vocabulary: Words With Irish and Gaelic Roots
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Chains
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The Night Diary
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Australian tourists Geoffrey and Tennille Mutton ignored the warnings of their friends and family to bring their two daughters to L.A.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 29, 2025
"When I saw Mutton in person for the first time, I was just overcome with excitement," said Lin, who is now a postdoctoral researcher at the American Museum of Natural History.
From Science Daily • Dec. 15, 2023
Mutton chops and the John Muir look are non-starters.
From New York Times • Apr. 21, 2020
Still set on a massage, however, I head to the nearby Devonshire Royal Hospital, which is visited, according to Mutton, by "rheumatic patients of slender means from all over the kingdom".
From BBC • Dec. 27, 2017
I look toward the door of the Mutton.
From "The Bletchley Riddle" by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
