mudlark

[ muhd-lahrk ]

/ ˈmʌdˌlɑrk /

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noun

Chiefly British. a person who gains a livelihood by searching for iron, coal, old ropes, etc., in mud or low tide.

Chiefly British Informal. a street urchin.

either of two black and white birds, Grallina cyanoleuca, of Australia, or G. bruijni, of New Guinea, that builds a large, mud nest.

verb (used without object)

to grub or play in mud.

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Origin of mudlark

First recorded in 1790–1800; mud + lark¹

Words nearby mudlark

mud gecko, mudguard, mud hen, mudhole, mudir, mudlark, mudlump, mud map, mudminnow, mudpack, mud pie

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

How to use mudlark in a sentence

As a lad I slept with the rats, held horses, swept crossings and lived like a mudlark!
The Strollers|Frederic S. Isham
You wade along in this way step by step, like a mudlark at Portsmouth Hard, hoping gradually to regain the surface.
South!|Sir Ernest Shackleton
This was Captain Abersouth, formerly of the Mudlark—as good a seaman as ever sat on the taffrail reading a three volume novel.
The Collected Works of Ambrose Bierce, Volume 8|Ambrose Bierce
So I shipped as mate on the Mudlark, bound from London to wherever the captain might think it expedient to sail.
The Collected Works of Ambrose Bierce, Volume 8|Ambrose Bierce

On the voyage of which I write he had taken no cargo at all; he said it would only make the Mudlark heavy and slow.
The Collected Works of Ambrose Bierce, Volume 8|Ambrose Bierce

British Dictionary definitions for mudlark

mudlark

/ (ˈmʌdˌlɑːk) /

noun

slang, rare a street urchin

(formerly) one who made a living by picking up odds and ends in the mud of tidal rivers

Australian slang a racehorse that runs well on a wet or muddy course

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