mutton

[ muht-n ]

/ ˈmʌt n /

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noun

the flesh of sheep, especially full-grown or more mature sheep, used as food.

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Origin of mutton

1250–1300; Middle English moton sheep <Old French <Celtic; compare MIr molt,Welsh mollt,Breton maout wether

OTHER WORDS FROM mutton

mut·ton·y, adjective

Words nearby mutton

mutism, Mutsuhito, mutt, Mutt and Jeff, mutter, mutton, mutton bird, muttonbirder, mutton chop, muttonchops, mutton corn

Other definitions for mutton (2 of 2)

mutton²

[ muht-n ]

/ ˈmʌt n /

noun Printing.

em (def. 2).

Also called mut.

Origin of mutton

1935–40; code term, coined to differentiate the pronunciation of em quad from en quad

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

How to use mutton in a sentence

I am willing to bet that you have not eaten mutton in the last six months, probably the last six years.
The Future of Meat (Ep. 367 Rebroadcast)|Stephen J. Dubner|August 29, 2019|Freakonomics
Cue heartbroken Galavant engorging himself on booze and mutton back home.
‘Galavant’: A Drunken, Horny Musical Fairy Tale|Melissa Leon|January 5, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The co-owner of Metropolis Collectables, Vincent has Wolverine mutton chops, a Tony Stark goatee, and Lex Luthor swagger.
The Holy Grail of Comic Books Hid in Plain Site at New York Comic Con|Sujay Kumar|October 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The speciality was mutton tagine, softly braised in the tagine pot with peas, vegetables, and spices.
The World’s Five Best Cheap Meals|Jodi Ettenberg|November 14, 2012|DAILY BEAST

Mutton Tagine in Zaita, Morocco This photo was taken at a tiny roadside town on the drive to Fez.
The World’s Five Best Cheap Meals|Jodi Ettenberg|November 14, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Generally, meat gets stringier, gamier, and less tasty as the animal ages: compare mutton (an old sheep) to lamb.
What 'Bath Salts' Will—and Won’t—Make You Do|Kent Sepkowitz|June 1, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Do not gastronomists complain of heaviness in London after eating a couple of mutton-chops?
Little Travels and Roadside Sketches|William Makepeace Thackeray
No doubt, having feasted on mutton so long, he had got a little sick of it, and thought he would make a dinner on beef.
Mike Marble|Uncle Frank
They mostly raise a few sheep and goats; the sheep are a poor lot, the wool is of a very inferior class, and the mutton poor.
Campaign Pictures of the War in South Africa (1899-1900)|A. G. Hales
My wife and I to church this morning, and so home to dinner to a boiled leg of mutton all alone.
Diary of Samuel Pepys, Complete|Samuel Pepys
M. Noel, in a dress-coat, very dark skinned and with mutton-chop whiskers, came forward to meet us.
The Nabob|Alphonse Daudet

British Dictionary definitions for mutton

mutton

/ (ˈmʌtən) /

noun

the flesh of sheep, esp of mature sheep, used as food

mutton dressed as lamb an older woman dressed up to look young

printing another word for em (def. 1) Compare nut (def. 12)

Derived forms of mutton

muttony, adjective

Word Origin for mutton

C13 moton sheep, from Old French, from Medieval Latin multō, of Celtic origin; the term was adopted in printing to distinguish the pronunciation of em quad from en quad

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