mud
wet, soft earth or earthy matter, as on the ground after rain, at the bottom of a pond, or along the banks of a river; mire.
Informal. scandalous or malicious assertions or information: The opposition threw a lot of mud at our candidate.
Slang. brewed coffee, especially when strong or bitter.
a mixture of chemicals and other substances pumped into a drilling rig chiefly as a lubricant for the bit and shaft.
to cover, smear, or spatter with mud: to mud the walls of a hut.
to stir up the mud or sediment in: waders mudding the clear water.
to hide in or burrow into mud.
Origin of mud
1Other words from mud
- un·mud·ded, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use mud in a sentence
Following the application of cold packs, the use of a poultice such as some of the sterile, medicated muds, is of marked benefit.
Lameness of the Horse | John Victor LacroixWe are all coated with the most adhesive of muds, the fineness of the grain rendering it difficult to remove from the clothes.
The houseboat book | William F. WaughThe epicontinental sea was shoaled and narrowed, and muds were washed in from the adjacent lands.
The Elements of Geology | William Harmon NortonAt intervals muds were laid down which later became consolidated into rocks known as "shales" and "argillites."
Glacier National Park [Montana] | United States Dept. of the InteriorThe valley at its upper end spreads out like the fingers of a hand, as the gullies in tide-muds do.
The Chautauquan, Vol. III, March 1883 | The Chautauquan Literary and Scientific Circle
British Dictionary definitions for mud
/ (mʌd) /
a fine-grained soft wet deposit that occurs on the ground after rain, at the bottom of ponds, lakes, etc
informal slander or defamation
clear as mud informal not at all clear
drag someone's name in the mud to disgrace or defame someone
here's mud in your eye informal a humorous drinking toast
someone's name is mud informal someone is disgraced
throw mud at or sling mud at informal to slander; vilify
(tr) to soil or cover with mud
Origin of mud
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Other Idioms and Phrases with mud
see clear as mud; name is mud; sling mud at.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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