mossy

American  

[maw-see, mos-ee] / ˈmɔ si, ˈmɒs i /

adjective

mossier, mossiest

1. overgrown with or abounding in moss.

   a mossy stone.

2. covered with a mosslike growth.

3. appearing as if covered with moss.

4. resembling moss.

   a mossy softness.

5. old or outdated; antiquated.

   mossy ideas.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• unmossy
  adjective
• mossiness
  noun

Etymology

Origin of mossy

First recorded in 1540–50; moss + -y ¹

Explanation

Anything covered with or resembling moss is mossy. A mossy rock can be pretty. Mossy teeth are never pretty. Moss tends to grow in a green carpet, especially in wooded or shady areas, so when you're walking through a forest you'll probably come upon mossy areas. Informally, you can also use this adjective to mean "old fashioned" or "dated." Your grandparents' conservative ideas about dating, for example, might be a little mossy. The word stems from an Old English root, meos, that's a close relation to mos, or "bog."

Example Sentences

Their brains also contained more "mossy cells" within the hippocampus, a region essential for learning and memory.

From Science Daily • Oct. 23, 2025

These signals get transmitted through the granule cells' axons -- their arm-like extension, known as mossy fibers.

From Science Daily • Nov. 20, 2024

The massive neck dips, casting a curving shadow on the mossy ground.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 15, 2024

Highly theatrical, it saw the 35-year-old perform inside a mossy grotto, singing on top of a giant mechanical beetle and ascending a tree trunk in fairy wings.

From BBC • Nov. 15, 2024

Or maybe they’d been scared away by the food—herring in rancid oil, stale black bread, and some kind of butter that looked distinctly mossy.

From "Six of Crows" by Leigh Bardugo