amuck

[ uh-muhk ]

See synonyms for amuck on Thesaurus.com

adjective

mad with murderous frenzy.

noun

amok.

Idioms about amuck

run / go amuck,
- to rush about in a murderous frenzy: The maniac ran amuck in the crowd, shooting at random.
- to rush about wildly; lose self-control: When the nightclub caught fire the patrons ran amuck, blocking the exits.

Origin of amuck

First recorded in 1510–20; variant of amok

Words Nearby amuck

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use amuck in a sentence

If you give steroids to a patient who is not yet exhibiting signs of an overactive immune system, you may actually make them sicker by allowing SARS-CoV-2 to run amuck.
These are the best COVID-19 treatments right now | Claire Maldarelli | October 5, 2020 | Popular-Science
I learned to swing an axe by cutting down saplings, and ran "amuck" among them just as my elders did among the larger trees.
The Red Cow and Her Friends | Peter McArthur
The elephant was not running amuck, though he might eventually work himself into that blind ungovernable rage.
The Adventures of Kathlyn | Harold MacGrath
As a wild beast is tied to keep it from running amuck, so the Law bridles mad and furious man to keep him from running wild.
Commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians | Martin Luther
His men were hoisting aboard the three dripping, sputtering passengers who had run amuck.
Blow The Man Down | Holman Day

Here they were back in civilization, and her man of the woods was straightway running amuck.
The Fashionable Adventures of Joshua Craig | David Graham Phillips

British Dictionary definitions for amuck

amuck

/ (əˈmʌk) /

noun, adverb

a variant of amok

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

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