adjective
Usage
The noun mucus is often misspelled mucous . Mucous can only be correctly used as an adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of mucous
1640–50; < Latin mūcōsus slimy, mucous, equivalent to mūc ( us ) snot ( see mucus) + -ōsus -ous
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.
Screwworms are parasitic flies whose females lay eggs in open wounds and mucous membranes on animals.
From BBC • Jun. 4, 2026
The US Environmental Protection Agency says methyl methacrylate is irritating to the skin, eyes, and mucous membranes in humans.
From Barron's • May 23, 2026
William, who Rona chirpily informs us has “a rare mucous membrane disorder,” is happy to get “lugubrious”: “Meaning extremely sad and droopy? A topic I am all too familiar with.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 24, 2025
Inhalation of selenium vapors may also cause dizziness, fatigue, irritation of the mucous membranes and respiratory effects.
From Los Angeles Times • May 4, 2025
“The germs of the disease are numerous in the mucous secretions,” M. M. C. writes.
From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly
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.
