mucky

American  

[muhk-ee] / ˈmʌk i /

adjective

muckier, muckiest

1. of or like muck.

2. filthy, dirty, or slimy.

3. British Informal.

   1. obscene.

      a mucky story.

   2. nasty; mean or contemptible.

      a mucky trick.

   3. (of weather) oppressively humid.

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mucky British  

/ ˈmʌkɪ /

adjective

1. dirty

2. of or like muck

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Other Word Forms

• muckily adverb
• muckiness noun

Etymology

Origin of mucky

First recorded in 1530–40; muck + -y ¹

Example Sentences

The trees won’t take in wetlands, in mucky soils.

From Slate • Apr. 20, 2026

In PowerWash Simulator's case that means cleaning through one mucky area - say, a fun house or a roller disco - after another; quite literally rinse and repeat.

From BBC • Apr. 3, 2026

I waded a long way out, til the bottom grew mucky and seaweed tickled my legs, then submerged.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 7, 2025

There, the Dnipro now wends through a mucky patchwork of about 9000 newly formed small lakes and ephemeral ponds.

From Science Magazine • Jan. 3, 2024

Cal and I lay side by side on an orange-and-green striped towel on a mucky beach across the swamps from Lynn.

From "The Bell Jar" by Sylvia Plath