mudpuppy

[ muhd-puhp-ee ]

/ ˈmʌdˌpʌp i /

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noun, plural mud·pup·pies.

any of several often large, aquatic salamanders of the genus Necturus, of eastern North America, having bushy, red gills and well-developed limbs.

any of several North American salamanders of the genus Ambystoma.

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Origin of mudpuppy

An Americanism dating back to 1880–85; mud + puppy

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use mudpuppy in a sentence

Yeah, the “Giant man-puppy” that is Gronkowski won't hold a sexual candle to the blue-eyed dreamboat.
‘A Gronking to Remember’ Speed Read: 8 Naughtiest Bits|Emily Shire|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
He scrambled outside to find a 25-foot-wide crater just beyond the mud wall surrounding his family compound.
The Dangerous Drug-Funded Secret War Between Iran and Pakistan|Umar Farooq|December 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
They described him as clad in black, his face smeared with mud.
Killer Eric Frein Held in Murdered Cop’s Cuffs|Michael Daly|October 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Who went to a school where she was allowed to take her puppy to gym class, and her best friend played the didgeridoo.
Speed Read: Lena Dunham’s Most Shocking Confessions From ‘Not That Kind of Girl’|Kevin Fallon|September 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Knee deep in mud, sweat mixing with rain, they forced the Land Rover through the jungle.
The Original Ebola Hunter|Abby Haglage|September 14, 2014|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.
Ramona|Helen Hunt Jackson
In some parts of Korea the houses were built of stout timbers, the chinks covered with woven cane and plastered with mud.
Our Little Korean Cousin|H. Lee M. Pike
The sun was palely shining upon dry, clean pavements and upon roads juicy with black mud.
Hilda Lessways|Arnold Bennett
Frank leaped ashore and pushed the boat off, while Mayne held her by jamming the leeward oar into the mud.
The Red Year|Louis Tracy
A cannon-ball crashed through the mud wall and bounded across the enclosure.
The Red Year|Louis Tracy

British Dictionary definitions for mudpuppy

mud puppy

noun

any aquatic North American salamander of the genus Necturus, esp N. maculosus, having red feathery external gills and other persistent larval features: family ProteidaeSee also neoteny

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