muddy
Americanadjective
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abounding in or covered with mud.
-
not clear or pure.
muddy colors.
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cloudy with sediment.
muddy coffee.
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dull, as the complexion.
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not clear mentally.
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obscure or vague, as thought, expression, or literary style.
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Horse Racing. denoting the condition of a track after a heavy, continuous rainfall has ceased and been completely absorbed into the surface, leaving it the consistency of thick mud.
verb (used with object)
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to make muddy; soil with mud.
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to make turbid.
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to cause to be confused or obscure.
verb (used without object)
adjective
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covered or filled with mud
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not clear or bright
muddy colours
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cloudy
a muddy liquid
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(esp of thoughts) confused or vague
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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muddysimple
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muddiessimple
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have muddiedperfect
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has muddiedperfect
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am muddyingprogressive
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are muddyingprogressive
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is muddyingprogressive
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have been muddyingperfect progressive
-
has been muddyingperfect progressive
Past
-
muddiedsimple
-
had muddiedperfect
-
was muddyingprogressive
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were muddyingprogressive
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had been muddyingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of muddy
First recorded in 1375–1425, muddy is from the late Middle English word muddi. See mud, -y 1
Explanation
Muddy is a verb that means to make dirty with mud. You might muddy up your mom's white shag rug if you don't take off your dirty hiking boots before you walk inside. The meaning of muddy is easy to remember: just look at the root word mud and think about smearing it on something. Muddy is also an adjective that describes something that's dirty and messy. When you're a child, you often end up looking muddy after playing outside, because you've been splashing in puddles and playing in the leaves. Muddy can also describe soil that's waterlogged, like your vegetable garden after a big rainstorm.
Vocabulary lists containing muddy
Can You Dig It? Words for Dirt and Soil
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Common Five-letter Words for Wordle, List 3
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Cormac McCarthy's "The Road"
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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.
His muddy room contains a wooden bed under a mosquito net and a simple handmade table.
From Barron's • Jun. 12, 2026
Hikers should expect soft, wet, slushy or muddy conditions during warmer parts of the day and snow across much of the trail at high elevations and in shaded areas, the organization said.
From Los Angeles Times • May 27, 2026
The rail firm also said boot-cleaning brushes would be available for people heading home from the event with muddy footwear.
From BBC • May 20, 2026
Six hundred years ago, on a muddy field near Agincourt in northern France, King Henry V’s outnumbered, half-starved English army faced the flower of French chivalry.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 19, 2026
Seven’s amulet filled with the muddy red color of the Spare coven, and she shut her eyes tight, wishing that she could just disappear.
From "Witchlings" by Claribel A. Ortega
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.
