mud

[ muhd ]

noun

1. wet, soft earth or earthy matter, as on the ground after rain, at the bottom of a pond, or along the banks of a river; mire.
2. Informal. scandalous or malicious assertions or information:

   The opposition threw a lot of mud at our candidate.

3. Slang. brewed coffee, especially when strong or bitter.
4. a mixture of chemicals and other substances pumped into a drilling rig chiefly as a lubricant for the bit and shaft.

verb (used with object)

, mud·ded, mud·ding.

1. to cover, smear, or spatter with mud:

   to mud the walls of a hut.

2. to stir up the mud or sediment in:

   waders mudding the clear water.

verb (used without object)

, mud·ded, mud·ding.

1. to hide in or burrow into mud.

mud

/ mʌd /

noun

1. a fine-grained soft wet deposit that occurs on the ground after rain, at the bottom of ponds, lakes, etc
2. informal.
   slander or defamation
3. clear as mud informal.
   clear as mud not at all clear
4. drag someone's name in the mud
   drag someone's name in the mud to disgrace or defame someone
5. here's mud in your eye informal.
   here's mud in your eye a humorous drinking toast
6. someone's name is mud informal.
   someone's name is mud someone is disgraced
7. throw mud at informal.
   throw mud atsling mud at to slander; vilify

verb

1. tr to soil or cover with mud

Other Words From

• un·mudded adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of mud¹

1300–50; Middle English mudde, mode < Middle Low German mudde. mother ²

Word History and Origins

Origin of mud¹

C14: probably from Middle Low German mudde; compare Middle High German mot swamp, mud, Swedish modd slush

Idioms and Phrases

see clear as mud ; name is mud ; sling mud at .

Example Sentences

Gas bubbles rise through puddles of mud, producing goopy popping sounds.

From Science News

That included the mud shack in northeastern South Africa where 4-year-old Ntando Kubheka lived.

From Ozy

Allbirds figures that sticking with its best advantage—its good-for-the-planet sheen—represents its best chance of not getting left in the mud.

From Fortune

Geysers of oil, rock and mud have shot skyward 100 feet, and slopes have collapsed under smoking waterfalls of crude and wastewater.

From ProPublica

She splashed around in the water, dressed in her conservative Friday best, her grandchildren squealing and throwing mud at one another.

From Ozy

He scrambled outside to find a 25-foot-wide crater just beyond the mud wall surrounding his family compound.

From The Daily Beast

They described him as clad in black, his face smeared with mud.

From The Daily Beast

Knee deep in mud, sweat mixing with rain, they forced the Land Rover through the jungle.

From The Daily Beast

Sheets of torrential rains pouring down over the Land Rover sent its four wheels plunging into the mud.

From The Daily Beast

All around you are farms fields dotted with canted mud structures.

From The Daily Beast

Aunt Ri, at her best estate, had never possessed a room which had the expression of this poor little mud hut of Ramona's.

From Project Gutenberg

In some parts of Korea the houses were built of stout timbers, the chinks covered with woven cane and plastered with mud.

From Project Gutenberg

The sun was palely shining upon dry, clean pavements and upon roads juicy with black mud.

From Project Gutenberg

Frank leaped ashore and pushed the boat off, while Mayne held her by jamming the leeward oar into the mud.

From Project Gutenberg

A cannon-ball crashed through the mud wall and bounded across the enclosure.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• clay
• muck
• silt
• sludge
• slush