muckier; muckiest
1
: consisting of, marked by, or full of mud or muck
the mucky bottom of a pond
The ground was mucky and full of stagnant puddles.James Alexander Thom
2
a
: covered in dirt or gunk : dirty, filthy
mucky boots
b
: offensive to the senses : disagreeable, unpleasant
… the pretense that the picture is about decent people caught in a mucky world …Stanley Kauffmann
c
: muggy, humid
In the early evening … a thunderstorm rolled through, cleaning out the mucky air.Rick Steves
d
: murky, clouded
… the mucky floodwaters crawled through her home.Dug Begley and Maggie Gordon
muckiness noun
Hardy bulbs hate soppy living conditions and will rot if left sitting in water. They'll tolerate cold far better than muckiness. Mary Robson

Examples of mucky in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Forecast in detail Monday was mucky with heat, humidity and haze, but today delivers drier and cooler air with a nice breeze. Matt Rogers, Washington Post, 22 Aug. 2023 The dark color is forgiving with spills and mucky little hands or paws—not a minor detail for busy households and growing families. Sophie Flaxman, Better Homes & Gardens, 17 Sep. 2023 That’s an ominous sign, said Mr. Kurta, the Michigan scientist, donning waders to slosh across the mucky river bottom for the bat netting project in mid-June. John Flesher, The Christian Science Monitor, 4 Aug. 2023 High-power vacuums also excel in wet suction, slurping up liquid and mucky messes much better than a low-power vac. Collin Morgan, Car and Driver, 15 July 2023 Despite thriving in shallow, weedy, mucky areas, snakeheads do not gravitate to decaying forage. Joe Cermele, Outdoor Life, 20 July 2023 Josh, back home, and Dalton, at college, are estranged but linked by their demon sightings, confronting this or that mucky spirit from the Further. Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 6 July 2023 Redd walked out behind his house, through other backyards, then brush, then irrigation ditches, then a mucky expanse of wetlands. Matthew Gavin Frank, Harper's Magazine, 6 June 2023 Just don't bring the muckier parts of it inside to build up and contaminate our homes. Mark Patrick Taylor, CBS News, 26 May 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'mucky.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1538, in the meaning defined at sense 2a

Time Traveler
The first known use of mucky was in 1538

Dictionary Entries Near mucky

Cite this Entry

“Mucky.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mucky. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024.

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