muss
Americannoun
verb (used with object)
-
musses,
present (3rd person singular)
-
mussed,
past participle, past
-
mussing
present participle
verb
noun
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
musssimple
-
mussessimple
-
have mussedperfect
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has mussedperfect
-
am mussingprogressive
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are mussingprogressive
-
is mussingprogressive
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have been mussingperfect progressive
-
has been mussingperfect progressive
Past
-
mussedsimple
-
had mussedperfect
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was mussingprogressive
-
were mussingprogressive
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had been mussingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of muss
Explanation
To muss is to mess up. When your grandmother reaches over to muss your hair, she tousles it — you'll have to carefully comb it again before you leave for school. Falling in the mud might make you muss your new jeans, and a strong wind on a boat will muss everyone's hair. While the verb muss means "make untidy," it's almost always used to talk about hair, and occasionally clothing. The word muss has been around since the nineteenth century, and it was probably originally a variation on mess. A muss was once also a term meaning "a fight or disturbance."
Vocabulary lists containing muss
Milkweed
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The Book of Unknown Americans
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Tears of a Tiger
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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.
See Examples For:
As the world’s biggest fan of Peter Watkins’s twisted and superb “Edvard Munch,” I harbor a soft spot for filmmakers who muss up the perfectly coifed looks and reassuring habits of biographical films.
From New York Times ● Jul. 22, 2021
The customary thing would be for him to play some uncustomary role in a hit HBO series, or get into a Marvel project or something where he’d have to muss up his hair.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 18, 2021
Or else, as my friend Kevin would say, the other countries would push us around in a circle and muss our hair.
From Salon ● May 10, 2020
It packages everything as one downloader/installer and installs it onto your new PC — no muss or fuss.
From The Verge ● Dec. 27, 2019
He leaned over to muss my hair and to tickle Teddy on his chubby cheek.
From "If I Stay" by Gayle Forman
It cuts away when wind musses the hair of Xi Jinping, the Chinese president.
From New York Times ● Feb. 28, 2019
A low-key vibe pervades the shop—when a young boy musses a pile of garments, he gets nothing more than a beatific smile from the sales staff.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 10, 2019
Southern humidity has everybody sweating through their shirts, but no perspiration musses Adora’s Veronica Lake waves.
From Washington Post ● Aug. 27, 2018
She once read an online comment observing that she has a “short forehead,” and it’s true, though she so frequently musses her impressively thick, straight hair that it’s hard to notice.
From The New Yorker ● Apr. 25, 2016
Heidi looks at her cell phone and musses my hair, flicking it this way and that.
From "Better Nate Than Ever" by Tim Federle
Like the hypnotically minimalist drama that contains Friedel’s restrained performance, the Höss we meet is immaculately presented, his hair never mussed, his manner often serene.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 29, 2023
Baker: I can’t shake the image of Colorado defenseman Cale Makar escaping Tuesday’s home opener with nary a mussed hair beneath his helmet.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 20, 2023
His hair is mussed and he’s wearing wide-leg denim trousers and an ivory babydoll top with a Peter Pan collar.
From Washington Post ● May 24, 2022
We came in and the bed was mussed.
From New York Times ● May 19, 2022
She pressed her hand on his head and mussed up his soft curls.
From "The Way to Rio Luna" by Zoraida Cordova
He scratched it, mussing his hair even further.
From The New Yorker ● Jan. 13, 2020
Mr. Macdonald saw this up close two years ago when his pal Jimmy Fallon was criticized for playfully mussing then-candidate Mr. Trump’s hair on “The Tonight Show.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 5, 2018
Not that Mr. Fairchild liked to take credit for mussing the industry’s hair and bruising feelings.
From New York Times ● Feb. 27, 2015
Schneider went behind Idzik, further mussing his hair as the coach laughed.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 7, 2011
Gideon runs his hand through his dark hair, mussing it.
From "Dread Nation" by Justina Ireland
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
