muck

[muhk]

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noun

moist farmyard dung, decaying vegetable matter, etc.; manure.

a highly organic, dark or black soil, less than 50 percent combustible, often used as a manure.

mire; mud.

filth, dirt, or slime.

defamatory or sullying remarks.

a state of chaos or confusion: to make a muck of things.

Chiefly British Informal. something of no value; trash.

(especially in mining) earth, rock, or other useless matter to be removed in order to get out the mineral or other substances sought.

verb (used with object)

to manure.

to make dirty; soil.

to remove muck from (sometimes followed by out).

Informal.

to ruin; bungle (often followed by up).
to put into a state of complete confusion (often followed by up).

Verb Phrases

muck about/around, Informal. to idle; waste time; loiter.

Origin of muck

1200–50; Middle English muc, muk < Old Norse myki cow dung

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for muck

manure, mud, trash, slime, goo, dirt, sludge, gunk, mire, waste, dung, refuse, filth, garbage, ooze, sewage, gook

Examples from the Web for muck

Contemporary Examples of muck

After a long day of him wading and me watching him in the muck, cocktails were required.
Up to a Point: In Defense of Lobbyists
P. J. O’Rourke
October 25, 2014
How nice of Bob Dylan to demonstrate that over a lifetime of work, even perfection sometime runs amok into a muck.
Bob Dylan: Why We Can Never Know Him
Elizabeth Wurtzel
November 9, 2013
Italy, in the muck of an economic crisis, simply cannot afford to help everyone who lands on the shores.
Italy’s Shipwrecked Syrians Fare Better Than Most Migrants
Barbie Latza Nadeau
October 3, 2013
The cops, of course, always attend Hempfest, not to muck up the vibe but to make sure no big, important laws are being flouted.
Seattle Police Hand Out Doritos at Hempfest
Winston Ross
August 18, 2013
I had discreetly sloshed the muck in my Styrofoam cup onto the grass.
Pop Culture and the Recession
David Frum
April 30, 2012

Historical Examples of muck

"Heave that muck overboard," he ordered some of those who stood idling in the waist.
Captain Blood
Rafael Sabatini
Now he was not only hopelessly down in the muck of poverty, but hopelessly dishonored.
Garrison's Finish
W. B. M. Ferguson
Nae muck le o' that, but a douce, good-humored lassie for a' that.
The Knight Of Gwynne, Vol. I (of II)
Charles James Lever
They are too pure to have a market value; they contain no muck.
Walden, and On The Duty Of Civil Disobedience
Henry David Thoreau
Muck or pond dirt could be used in the same way, in place of manure.
Guano
Solon Robinson

British Dictionary definitions for muck

muck

noun

farmyard dung or decaying vegetable matter

Also called: muck soil an organic soil rich in humus and used as a fertilizer

dirt or filth

earth, rock material, etc, removed during mining excavations

slang, mainly British rubbish

See Lord Muck, Lady Muck

make a muck of slang, mainly British to ruin or spoil

verb (tr)

to spread manure upon (fields, gardens, etc)

to soil or pollute

(often foll by out) to clear muck from

Word Origin for muck

C13: probably of Scandinavian origin; compare Old Norse myki dung, Norwegian myk

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

Word Origin and History for muck

mid-13c., "cow dung and vegetable matter spread as manure," from a Scandinavian source, cf. Old Norse myki, mykr "cow dung," Danish møg, from Proto-Germanic *muk-, *meuk- "soft." Meaning "unclean matter generally" is from c.1300. Muck-sweat first attested 1690s.

late 14c., "to dig in the ground," also "to remove manure," early 15c., "to spread manure, cover with muck," from muck (n.). Meaning "to make dirty" is from 1832; in the figurative sense, "to make a mess of," it is from 1886; to muck about "mess around" is from 1856. Related: Mucked; mucking.