mud flat

American  

noun

1. a mud-covered, gently sloping tract of land, alternately covered and left bare by tidal waters.

2. the muddy, nearly level bed of a dry lake.

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mud flat British  

noun

1. a tract of low muddy land, esp near an estuary, that is covered at high tide and exposed at low tide

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mud flat Scientific  

/ mŭd /

1. Low-lying land consisting of silt or sand that is covered at high tide and exposed at low tide.

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Etymology

Origin of mud flat

First recorded in 1805–15

Example Sentences

The second car drove up onto a mud flat, and its two passengers eventually rescued.

From Reuters • Aug. 11, 2023

The indentations, pressed into the mud as people and animals walked across stretches of tidal mud flat, were baked in the sun and buried for millennia.

From BBC • Oct. 2, 2022

The agency also said an area where a prehistoric crocodile crossed a mud flat appeared to have been driven over multiple times by a backhoe, causing fracturing, the Salt Lake Tribune reported.

From Seattle Times • Apr. 2, 2022

Some residents fear being left with a stinking mud flat once the dam is gone, but in fact, dormant seeds quickly become trees, shrubs and grasses.

From New York Times • Jan. 20, 2020

The tide was coming in and the mud flat had shrunk to the width of a path.

From "The Whipping Boy" by Sid Fleischman