muck

1 of 2

noun

1
: soft moist farmyard manure
2
: slimy dirt or filth
3
a
: defamatory remarks or writings
b
: rubbish, nonsense
mindless muck
4
a(1)
: dark highly organic soil
(2)
: mire, mud
b
: something resembling muck : gunk
5
: material removed in the process of excavating or mining

muck

2 of 2

verb

mucked; mucking; mucks

transitive verb

1
a
: to clean up
especially : to clear of manure or filth
usually used with out
b
: to clear of muck
2
: to dress (something, such as soil) with muck
3
: to dirty with or as if with muck : soil

intransitive verb

1
: to move or load muck (as in a mine)
2
a
: to engage in aimless activity
usually used with about or around
b
: putter, tinker
usually used with about or around
mucking around with his computer
c
: interfere, meddle
usually used with about or around
mucker noun

Examples of muck in a Sentence

Noun Clean that muck off your shoes. spattered with muck from the pigpen Verb you can't work in the garden and not expect to muck your clothes
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Refrigerators and other appliances floating in muck. Daniel Arkin, NBC News, 30 Sep. 2024 While my feet slipped through the muck, a hippo turd, still fresh, brushed past my elbow. Chris Schalkx, Vogue, 7 Sep. 2024
Verb
The film mucks around in fame and fans and mental illness and monsters—Lady Gaga themes, all. Jonathan Van Meter, Vogue, 5 Sep. 2024 There’s a long history of American mercenaries mucking around south of the border, certainly in the 1980s under Reagan, and of course going back to the Bay of Pigs under Kennedy. Matthew Carey, Deadline, 7 Aug. 2024 See all Example Sentences for muck 

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

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English muk, perhaps from Old English -moc; akin to Old Norse myki dung

First Known Use

Noun

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of muck was in the 13th century

Dictionary Entries Near muck

Cite this Entry

“Muck.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/muck. Accessed 9 Oct. 2024.

Kids Definition

muck

1 of 2 noun
ˈmək
1
: soft moist barnyard manure
2
3
a
: dark rich soil
b
: mud, mire
mucky
ˈmək-ē
adjective

muck

2 of 2 verb
1
: to clean up
especially : to clear of manure or filth
2
: to dress with muck
3
: to dirty with or as if with muck

More from Merriam-Webster on muck

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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