muzzle
Americannoun
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the mouth, or end for discharge, of the barrel of a gun, pistol, etc.
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the projecting part of the head of an animal, including jaws, mouth, and nose.
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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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to put a muzzle on (an animal or its mouth) so as to prevent biting, eating, etc.
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to restrain from speech, the expression of opinion, etc..
The censors muzzled the press.
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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
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a guard or strap fitted over an animal's nose and jaws to prevent it biting or eating
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the front end of a gun barrel
verb
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to prevent from being heard or noticed
to muzzle the press
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to put a muzzle on (an animal)
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to take in (a sail)
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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muzzlesimple
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muzzlessimple
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have muzzledperfect
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has muzzledperfect
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am muzzlingprogressive
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are muzzlingprogressive
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is muzzlingprogressive
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have been muzzlingperfect progressive
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has been muzzlingperfect progressive
Past
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muzzledsimple
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had muzzledperfect
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was muzzlingprogressive
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were muzzlingprogressive
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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:
He famously wrote about pushing a hawk off a branch with his gun muzzle, a level of approachability that extended to other birds like finches, which ultimately became foundational to his theory of evolution.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 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
NGOs have criticised the move as an attempt to muzzle criticism of corruption.
From Barron's ● Dec. 17, 2025
I notice two guests, both with their eyes closed, yawning as Cowboy rubs his muzzle along the fence.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 9, 2025
But just as Wolf was jumping onto his pack-brother to snuffle-lick his muzzle, he was batted away again!
From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver
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
She said her rescue centre only walked their dogs wearing muzzles and only rehomed them to rural locations.
From BBC ● Dec. 3, 2023
Before dogs enter the ring, groomers blow-dry the bellies of Tibetan spaniels, unfurl curlers from the muzzles of snow-white Malteses and spritz the coiffed, cloudlike bobs of bichon frisés.
From Seattle Times ● May 8, 2023
The Incorrigible children slid more gracefully off their mounts and began to sniff at the air, while the three smaller wolves ran in tight circles, whimpering and skimming their muzzles along the ground.
From "The Unseen Guest" by Maryrose Wood
The American Pope, meanwhile, refuses to be muzzled.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 18, 2026
The 32-year-old attended a voluntary police interview the same month and was given a caution with conditions including to keep the dog muzzled and on a lead at all times in public places.
From BBC ● Mar. 21, 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
Similar restrictions were also introduced in Scotland, while in Northern Ireland, XL bullies now have to be muzzled and kept on a lead in public.
From BBC ● Jan. 28, 2025
I squeezed my eyes shut, but I couldn’t pull back from the images that came next—the lines of marching, muzzled monsters.
From "The Darkest Minds" by Alexandra Bracken
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
“I know that’s not as interesting as muzzling a comedian, but it’s so important to have a free press, and it is nuts that we aren’t paying more attention to it.”
From Salon ● Sep. 26, 2025
"There should be more muzzling brought into place for dogs that could be like that," she added.
From BBC ● Jan. 12, 2024
In a hungry moment he had driven his bill through both shells of a scallop, which slipped or worked its way up to his nostrils, muzzling the bird perfectly with a hard shell ring.
From Ways of Wood Folk by Copeland, Charles
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.
