musty
1 Americannoun
adjective
-
smelling or tasting old, stale, or mouldy
-
old-fashioned, dull, or hackneyed
musty ideas
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of musty1
1520–30; perhaps variant of moisty ( Middle English; see moist, -y 1) with loss of i before s as in master
Origin of musty2
First recorded in 1700–10; noun use of musty 1
Explanation
Use the word musty to describe an unclean, stale, and possibly moldy smell. If something smells musty that means it’s probably been sitting in a damp corner without any air for a little too long. Musty smells take time to develop: they’re caused by dampness and mold, and signal some amount of decay. You might also call the smell of a musty old basement rank or foul. But people also use musty to insult someone’s writing, or their ideas. A musty speech wouldn’t just be old-fashioned, it would be old in a bad way: rotten and boring.
Vocabulary lists containing musty
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
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The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
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Hatchet
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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.
Musty retreads of Ibsen and Chekhov, besides being counter to the maverick spirit of their play, can be soporific endurance tests.
From Los Angeles Times • May 9, 2024
Musty, earthy or muddy-tasting fish is never going to go over well with the family.
From Science Daily • Oct. 19, 2023
“I’m stable right now, my blood counts are close to normal,” P-Orridge said on a recent afternoon at home, flanked by a snoring Pekingese named Musty Dagger.
From New York Times • Nov. 9, 2018
Musty memories of better times perfume the town like the whiff of the brassicas.
From Economist • Jun. 30, 2016
Musty and gamey, like a sick room that hasn’t been aired out.
From "Dry" by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman
Definitions 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.
