murk

¹ American  

[murk] / mɜrk /

Or mirk

noun

1. darkness; gloom.

   the murk of a foggy night.

---

adjective

1. Archaic. dark; murky.

murk ² American  

[murk] / mɜrk /

verb (used with object)

1. Slang. a variant of merk.

---

murk ¹ British  

/ mɜːk /

noun

1. gloomy darkness

---

adjective

1. an archaic variant of murky

murk ² British  

/ mɜːk /

verb

1. to murder (a person)

2. to defeat (a team) convincingly

---

Etymology

Origin of murk¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English mirke, myrke, from Old Norse myrkr “dark, darkness,” replacing Old English myrce “dark”

Origin of murk²

First recorded in 2005–10

Example Sentences

Through the murk, China’s interest in the war is important and complicated.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 30, 2025

In the dark waters off the west coast of Scotland, a slender submarine glider, like a torpedo with wings, slips under the surface and quickly disappears off into the murk.

From BBC • Dec. 7, 2025

By then, when the flat gray murk of Steve Annis’ cinematography and Robin Brown’s production design have dulled your senses, you’ll be hungry for stunts and what a samurai sword can do.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 23, 2024

There are pinholes in the murk, apertures such as the Instagram feeds of Gaza photographers and a small number of testimonies that slip through.

From New York Times • Jan. 30, 2024

White relied upon Agent Burger to guide him through the murk of the previous federal investigation.

From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann