muddle
Americanverb (used with object)
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muddles,
present (3rd person singular)
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muddled,
past participle, past
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muddling
present participle
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to mix up in a confused or bungling manner; jumble.
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to cause to become mentally confused.
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to cause to become confused or stupid with or as if with an intoxicating drink.
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to make muddy or turbid, as water.
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-
to mix, crush, or mash (an ingredient) into a drink, especially with a muddler.
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to mix or stir (a cocktail, chocolate, etc.).
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Ceramics. to smooth (clay) by rubbing it on glass.
verb (used without object)
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muddles,
present (3rd person singular)
-
muddled,
past participle, past
-
muddling
present participle
noun
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muddles
plural
verb phrase
verb
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(often foll by up) to mix up (objects, items, etc); jumble
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to confuse
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to make (water) muddy or turbulent
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to mix or stir (alcoholic drinks, etc)
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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muddlednessnoun
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muddlementnoun
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premuddlenoun
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muddledadjective
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muddlingadjective
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muddlyadjective
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muddlinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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muddlesimple
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muddlessimple
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have muddledperfect
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has muddledperfect
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am muddlingprogressive
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are muddlingprogressive
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is muddlingprogressive
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have been muddlingperfect progressive
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has been muddlingperfect progressive
Past
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muddledsimple
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had muddledperfect
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was muddlingprogressive
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were muddlingprogressive
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had been muddlingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of muddle
First recorded in 1540–50; mud + -le; cognate with Middle Dutch moddelen “to muddy”
Explanation
A muddle is something that's messy and confusing. If your bedroom looks like a hurricane just hit it, you might describe it as a muddle. Oftentimes, we create the muddles in our lives, so it’s appropriate that muddle can be used as a verb meaning “to mix up” or “confuse.” Conveniently, though, the word muddle also describes a way out of difficult situations; to muddle through a troublesome task is to somehow figure it out, even if you don’t quite know what you’re doing. It has been suggested that muddle comes from an old Dutch word meaning “to make muddy.”
Vocabulary lists containing muddle
In a Pickle: Words for When You're in Trouble
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
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Bridge to Terabithia
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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.
See Examples For:
Nice idea, but it's a bit of a muddle.
From BBC ● May 8, 2026
Another muddle concerns his expectations of economic gains from artificial intelligence.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 3, 2026
For China’s economy to muddle along, Chu says, the U.S. economy needs to do well and keep buying Chinese goods, even if they are no longer coming via Vietnam or Malaysia.
From Barron's ● Dec. 27, 2025
Lululemon recently came under criticism from analysts for its partnership with the NFL, on concerns that it would further muddle the waters for a company better known for its yoga pants than for football merchandise.
From MarketWatch ● Dec. 11, 2025
“Yesterday was a bit of a muddle, but I believe I have the hang of things now. After the post office we will proceed to Buckingham Palace.”
From "The Hidden Gallery" by Maryrose Wood
That may be a greenlight for investors to take a closer look at well-positioned companies, even if China’s economy merely muddles along.
From Barron's ● Jun. 23, 2026
“He just muddles through and uses Google Images and sort of figures it out that way.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2025
Instead, it simply muddles the everyman point of the film.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 5, 2025
The researchers knew at this point that they had a subjective way to induce presence hallucinations, thanks to the robotic task that muddles up the user's senses.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 12, 2024
He muddles his vowel sounds, drops some consonants and even whole syllables.
From "Drama High" by Michael Sokolove
Hutchison previously said the issue muddled talks over a potential sale of stakes in certain port assets.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
Rising competition and a cautious consumer backdrop have suppressed sales, analysts say, and frequent management changes have muddled the strategy.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 8, 2026
Albania's land rights issue stems from its communist past that banned individual land ownership, further muddled by customs that date back to the Ottoman era.
From Barron's ● Jun. 25, 2026
They ask for tuba compuesta, or “composed,” with muddled red berries and diced apple, giving it an inviting pinkish color.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 24, 2026
Con and Taisin seemed as muddled as she was.
From "Huntress" by Malinda Lo
The BBC understands Lord Mandelson doesn't believe there were any security concerns, wasn't asked to do anything to deal with any and there has been a muddling of key details relating to these claims.
From BBC ● Jun. 1, 2026
Most people have these spaces, she notes, but “the usual experience is of muddling along, spending these bits of time without much direction”—puttering around the house, mindlessly scrolling on our phones.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 8, 2026
To make its mocktail rendition, Caporale suggests making a simple limeade by muddling mint leaves with fresh lime juice and adding sugar along with soda water.
From Salon ● Jan. 18, 2026
That’s partly because the plot can veer into far-fetched territory, but also because we see the story unfold from two different viewpoints, muddling the truth.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 17, 2025
A prosperous city-state on the east side of the island of Sicily, Syracuse had been muddling along for years under a succession of tyrants.
From "Words Like Loaded Pistols" by Sam Leith
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.
