muddy
Americanadjective
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abounding in or covered with mud.
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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
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.
The opening setting of the “Sleepers, awake!” text starts out muddy, as though the singers are still half asleep and not quite on their parts.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 24, 2026
Standing pitchside at a muddy Lancastrian playing field is a football fan excitedly applying the finishing touches to an enormous, time-worn scrapbook.
From BBC • Apr. 7, 2026
“I think folks in Anaheim think that Anaheim is doing their fair share of developing housing. I don’t want to muddy the concept by saying Anaheim is saying, ‘We don’t need any more housing.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 24, 2026
“These kinds of comments muddy the water in our strategy,” Thompson added.
From Barron's • Mar. 17, 2026
The ground was muddy from all the rain, and the mist made it hard to see where we were going.
From "Facing the Lion" by Joseph Lemasolai Lekuton and Herman Viola
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.
