mule

[ myool ]

/ myul /

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See synonyms for: mule / mules on Thesaurus.com

noun

the sterile offspring of a female horse and a male donkey, valued as a work animal, having strong muscles, a body shaped like a horse, and donkeylike long ears, small feet, and sure-footedness.Compare hinny.

any hybrid between the donkey and the horse.

Informal. a very stubborn person.

Botany. any sterile hybrid.

Biology. a hybrid, especially one between the canary and some other finch.

Slang. a person paid to carry or transport contraband, especially drugs, for a smuggler.

a small locomotive used for pulling rail cars, as in a coal yard or on an industrial site, or for towing, as of ships through canal locks.

Also called spinning mule . a machine for spinning cotton or other fibers into yarn and winding the yarn on spindles.

Nautical. a large triangular staysail set between two masts and having its clew set well aft.

Numismatics. a hybrid coin having the obverse of one issue and the reverse of the succeeding issue, or vice versa.

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Idioms about mule

forty acres and a mule, a broken or unfulfilled promise, especially one with unjust, long-term consequences: an allusion to the parcels of farmland that formerly enslaved African Americans were promised and given after the Civil War and then had taken away from them: The protesters chanted their demand, “Real action, real justice, no forty acres and a mule.”

Origin of mule

First recorded before 1000; Middle English, from Old French, from Latin mūla “mule” (feminine); replacing Old English mūl, from Latin mūlus (masculine)

Words nearby mule

mulch, mulcher, Mulciber, mulct, Muldoon, mule, mule chest, mule deer, mule-ears, mule-fat, muleheaded

Other definitions for mule (2 of 2)

mule²

[ myool ]

/ myul /

noun

a lounging slipper that covers the toes and instep or only the instep.

a woman's shoe resembling this.

Origin of mule

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English mule, moule “sore spot on the heel, chilblain,” perhaps from Middle Dutch mūle

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

How to use mule in a sentence

I’m a mountain person who, for some reason, enjoys climbing thousands of vertical feet by myself in the dark, so elk and mule deer were the choice for me.
The Beginner's Guide to Hunting|Ian Fohrman|October 30, 2020|Outside Online
Earlier this year, she got a chance to find out when she joined a bow hunt for mule deer with two rising stars of huntstagram, the social media sphere dedicated to all things hunting.
A First-Time Hunter Gets a Lesson from #WomenWhoHunt|Outside Editors|October 7, 2020|Outside Online
While relatively small burns intended to regenerate habitat—say, 100 acres to improve mule deer range—are exempt from rigorous analysis, larger projects can take years to be approved, says Van de Water.
How we can burn our way to a better future|Ula Chrobak|October 2, 2020|Popular-Science
That you don’t have to be somebody’s emotional or spiritual mule to be worthy of love.
Get Gabrielle Union’s Best Career Advice|Joshua Eferighe|September 16, 2020|Ozy

The company was working on military contracts, and BigDog was supposed to be a sort of pack mule for soldiers.
The Robot Revolution Was Televised: Our All-Time Favorite Boston Dynamics Robot Videos|Jason Dorrier|July 19, 2020|Singularity Hub
He weighed only 185 pounds, but he had killer instincts and rabbit quickness and the stamina of a mule.
Football Great Bob Suffridge Wanders Through the End Zone of Life|Paul Hemphill|September 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He took the left one and, with a pile driver of a mule kick, almost ripped it off its hinges.
The Night the SEALS Captured the Butcher of Fallujah|Patrick Robinson|November 11, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Those players called Robinson “Mule” because he worked them hard as pack animals.
Eddie Robinson, College Football’s Winningest Coach|Samuel G. Freedman|August 23, 2013|DAILY BEAST
In some places we want cows but not bison, or mule deer but not coyotes, or cars but not elk.
Why Do We Save Some Species and Let Others Get Devastated?|Melissa Holbrook Pierson|May 21, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Steadily, our gunman pushed forward, his mule high-stepping through brush.
An Obsessive’s Search for a Lost Jungle City|Christopher S. Stewart|December 30, 2012|DAILY BEAST
At this moment the tinkling of a mule's bells, mingled with the song of the muleteer, came on the air.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 60, No. 372, October 1846|Various
Massed on the plateau above the mule-path, the whole population of the village stood to watch them down the steep descent.
Rosemary in Search of a Father|C. N. Williamson
On crossing it for the first time, I perceived lying about me half putrid cats and dogs—and even a mule in the same state.
A Woman's Journey Round the World|Ida Pfeiffer
He drives a white mule, and has managed to put a top of sail cloth on an old ramshackle buggy, which he calls a 'shay.'
The Cromptons|Mary J. Holmes
I took my own saddle ashore: and being mounted on a fine mule, we all began our journey towards the hill.
Journal of a Voyage to Brazil|Maria Graham

British Dictionary definitions for mule (1 of 2)

mule¹

/ (mjuːl) /

noun

the sterile offspring of a male donkey and a female horse, used as a beast of burdenCompare hinny 1

any hybrid animala mule canary

Also called: spinning mule a machine invented by Samuel Crompton that spins cotton into yarn and winds the yarn on spindles

informal an obstinate or stubborn person

slang a person who is paid to transport illegal drugs for a dealer

Word Origin for mule

C13: from Old French mul, from Latin mūlus ass, mule

British Dictionary definitions for mule (2 of 2)

mule²

/ (mjuːl) /

noun

a backless shoe or slipper

Word Origin for mule

C16: from Old French from Latin mulleus a magistrate's shoe

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

Other Idioms and Phrases with mule

mule

see stubborn as a mule.

mule

Idioms about mule

Origin of mule

Words nearby mule

Other definitions for mule (2 of 2)

Origin of mule

Words related to mule

How to use mule in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for mule (1 of 2)

Word Origin for mule

British Dictionary definitions for mule (2 of 2)

Word Origin for mule

Other Idioms and Phrases with mule