muzzle
Americannoun
-
muzzles
plural
-
the mouth, or end for discharge, of the barrel of a gun, pistol, etc.
-
the projecting part of the head of an animal, including jaws, mouth, and nose.
-
a device, usually an arrangement of straps or wires, placed over an animal's mouth to prevent the animal from biting, eating, etc.
verb (used with object)
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muzzles,
present (3rd person singular)
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muzzled,
past participle, past
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muzzling
present participle
-
to put a muzzle on (an animal or its mouth) so as to prevent biting, eating, etc.
-
to restrain from speech, the expression of opinion, etc..
The censors muzzled the press.
-
Nautical. to attach the cable to the stock of (an anchor) by means of a light line to permit the anchor to be pulled loose readily.
noun
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the projecting part of the face, usually the jaws and nose, of animals such as the dog and horse
-
a guard or strap fitted over an animal's nose and jaws to prevent it biting or eating
-
the front end of a gun barrel
verb
-
to prevent from being heard or noticed
to muzzle the press
-
to put a muzzle on (an animal)
-
to take in (a sail)
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
muzzlesimple
-
muzzlessimple
-
have muzzledperfect
-
has muzzledperfect
-
am muzzlingprogressive
-
are muzzlingprogressive
-
is muzzlingprogressive
-
have been muzzlingperfect progressive
-
has been muzzlingperfect progressive
Past
-
muzzledsimple
-
had muzzledperfect
-
was muzzlingprogressive
-
were muzzlingprogressive
-
had been muzzlingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of muzzle
1350–1400; Middle English musel < Middle French < Medieval Latin mūsellum, diminutive of mūsum snout < ?
Explanation
A muzzle is a guard that covers an animal's mouth to keep it from biting. If your dog is aggressive, you might have to put a muzzle on her when you take her to the dog park. Muzzle comes from the Latin morsus meaning "bite." A muzzle is the nose and mouth of an animal like a cat or dog. It's also the name for a guard made of straps or wire that's worn over this part of an animal's face to keep it from biting. It's the mouth of a gun, too. If you muzzle someone, you gag him to prevent him from speaking.
Vocabulary lists containing muzzle
Of Mice and Men
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The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
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"The Highwayman"
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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:
Symptoms of the disease include nasal discharge, redness and swelling of the lips, nose and muzzle, lameness or reluctance to stand, a decrease in milk production, and diarrhoea in cattle.
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026
The first signs that a dog is crossing over into his senior years are often a graying muzzle, cloudier eyes or a slower gait.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026
Deborah famously tried to muzzle Ava a few times, only to back off when she realized that by hurting her protégé, she was wounding herself.
From Salon ● May 29, 2026
There is not an apparent muzzle flash from the shotgun during the short clip, which does not show the area where Allen was detained.
From Barron's ● May 3, 2026
The gestures can be with the muzzle, ears, paws, tail, shoulders, fur, or the whole body.
From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver
After hundreds of generations of human breeding, the dogs that emerged had shorter muzzles, smaller teeth and an enormous range of sizes, from lapdogs to hulking guardians.
From BBC ● Mar. 25, 2026
They observed six of the animals licking nectar-filled flowers from as many as 30 plants, one after another—coating their muzzles in pollen in the process.
From Science Magazine ● Nov. 19, 2024
The fuzzy white fungus officially known as Pseudogymnoascus destructans covers their wings, tails and muzzles in a thick coat.
From Salon ● Jul. 30, 2024
Poppies like disturbed soil created by plodding hooves and nibbling muzzles.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 5, 2024
German soldiers marched off with flowers in the muzzles of their rifles.
From "The War to End All Wars: World War I" by Russell Freedman
The American Pope, meanwhile, refuses to be muzzled.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 18, 2026
It featured a large, alien character, resembling a human but with a distorted head shape and muzzled mouth.
From BBC ● Feb. 10, 2026
“We look forward to making sure that oversight is preserved and protected and not muzzled and not unplugged or sabotaged.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 19, 2025
According to Inc.'s Bruce Crumley, Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield are “reportedly looking to reacquire the beloved ice cream brand, claiming its corporate owner has muzzled the company's social activism.”
From Salon ● Mar. 4, 2025
But it’s not like Mom and Dad muzzled you.
From "P.S. I Miss You" by Jen Petro-Roy
Experts said such provisos still have the effect of muzzling a victim’s speech and hindering public accountability.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 19, 2025
Lu said his “recourse to legal action has never been about muzzling fair criticism. It’s about defending against false claims that can seriously damage reputations.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 28, 2025
Sophie said she felt "torn" about committing to muzzling Autumn for life under the terms of the exemption, or risk her being seized.
From BBC ● Dec. 3, 2023
But he didn’t like the idea of muzzling her.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 26, 2023
There was a yearly average in Germany of four hundred dogs, dying of rabies, until the law requiring the muzzling of dogs was strictly enforced and since that time the disease is practically unknown.
From Mother's Remedies Over One Thousand Tried and Tested Remedies from Mothers of the United States and Canada by Thomas Jefferson Ritter
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.
