muck

noun

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\ ˈmək

Definition of muck

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 : soft moist farmyard manure

2 : slimy dirt or filth

3a : defamatory remarks or writings

b : rubbish, nonsense mindless muck

4a(1) : dark highly organic soil

(2) : mire, mud

b : something resembling muck : gunk

5 : material removed in the process of excavating or mining

muck

verb

mucked; mucking; mucks

Definition of muck (Entry 2 of 2)

transitive verb

1a : 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)

2a : to engage in aimless activity —usually used with about or around

b : putter, tinker —usually used with about or aroundmucking around with his computer

c : interfere, meddle —usually used with about or around

Other Words from muck Synonyms & Antonyms Example Sentences Learn More about muck

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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 Wear boots -- the trail is muddy in some areas -- but the search is worth the muck. — Mary Jane Brewer, cleveland, "Keep an eye out for Yule troublemakers on Medina County hike," 31 Dec. 2020 Spain’s most prized shellfish conservas hail from the northwestern region of Galicia, where female shellfish diggers called mariscadoras trawl the muck for mollusks fetching upward of $100 a can. — Benjamin Kemper, WSJ, "Dinner From a Can, No Apologies," 17 Dec. 2020 In addition to grabbing dust and dirt off upholstery and carpets like any average muck-sucker, the 3.8-pound, cordless, Omni Air UV+ neutralizes a large number of bacteria and viruses. — Popular Science, "The 8 most helpful new home products of 2020," 3 Dec. 2020 Scientists discovered long ago that the underwater shelf is where massive amounts of carbon sinks into the muck at the bottom. — Ned Rozell, Anchorage Daily News, "Even as sea ice dwindles, ocean around Bering Strait still captures bits of carbon," 14 Nov. 2020 The Skippers, known as a wide-open defense had to remain grounded in the mess and muck at Sidney Theriot Stadium last week. — Jim Derry | Staff Writer, NOLA.com, "Derry's Dimes: Only 2 St. Tammany Parish teams remain in hunt," 2 Dec. 2020 In addition to grabbing dust and dirt off upholstery and carpets like any average muck-sucker, the 3.8-pound, cordless, Omni Air UV+ neutralizes a large number of bacteria and viruses. — Popular Science, "The 100 greatest innovations of 2020," 1 Dec. 2020 And then just to say the word muck, just at the end of a line. — Erica Gonzales, Harper's BAZAAR, "Noma Dumezweni Works Through the Muck of The Undoing," 27 Nov. 2020 But Sean Webb and Brent Leonard, principals of New York City’s Formarch Architecture, are used to being deep in the muck of renovation detritus, and the benefits far outweighed the pitfalls. — Jen Fernandez, House Beautiful, "Formarch Architecture Rescues a Run-Down Palm Springs Home," 18 Nov. 2020 Recent Examples on the Web: Verb But even if the tariff-happy Trump is not around in January to muck with their business, brewers worry that there is more political trouble ahead, with Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi engaged in their own saber-rattling at foreign trade. — Kevin D. Williamson, National Review, "Beer-Drinkers and Tax-Raisers," 1 Oct. 2020 Ducks and other water birds muck about while carrying myriad strains of influenza A; pigs aren’t fazed by hosting hepatitis E. — Rachel Ehrenberg, Ars Technica, "The bat-virus détente," 3 July 2020 Combining smart functionality, powerful suction, adequate runtime and ease of use, the Jashen is a formidable opponent to muck and dust. — Scott Simone, CNN Underscored, "The Jashen V16 vacuum is Dyson-like in power at half the price," 3 July 2020 Fine particles also seem to muck with the lungs’ ability to expel viruses and bacteria, hence the susceptibility to tuberculosis (caused by a bacteria) and pneumonia (an infection caused by both bacteria and viruses). — Matt Simon, Wired, "Will Wildfire Smoke Worsen the Pandemic? We're About to Find Out," 22 May 2020 And yet, the automobile didn't need hay or to have its stall mucked. — Ezra Dyer, Car and Driver, "I Want An Electric Chevy Camaro IROC," 7 Apr. 2020 Within, ultraprecise experiments can take place with only minute interference from the results-mucking effects of Earth, electronics, living bodies, and more. — Sarah Lewin Frasier, Scientific American, "The Room with the Weakest Magnetic Field on Earth," 1 Aug. 2015 Phenotypic plasticity is the ability of a species to respond to environmental stressors—like temperature swings—by altering their physiology without mucking with all the underlying genetics. — Matt Simon, Wired, "This Marsupial Dies After Marathon Mating. Now It's Got Bigger Worries," 12 Feb. 2020 If Coleman, Ramey or Andrew Jones managed to penetrate, another Bear would slide in to muck it all up. — Nick Moyle, ExpressNews.com, "Reeling and short-handed, Texas falls to No. 1 Baylor," 10 Feb. 2020

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'muck.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.