mud

1 of 3

noun (1)

ˈməd 

1

: a slimy sticky mixture of solid material with a liquid and especially water

especially : soft wet earth

2

: abusive and malicious remarks or charges

political campaigners slinging mud at each other

3

: anathema sense 1a

—usually used in the phrase one's name is mud

4

: a mixture of water, clay, and chemicals used in oil-well drilling and having various functions (such as lubrication and cooling of the bit and flushing of rock particles to the surface)

mud

2 of 3

verb

mudded; mudding

transitive verb

1

: to make muddy or turbid

2

: to treat or plaster with mud

muid

3 of 3

noun (2)

variants or mud

ˈmə(r)d 

ˈmə̄d

plural -s

: a Dutch unit of capacity used in southern Africa equal to about three bushels

Synonyms of mud

Noun (1)

• sludge
• muck
• gravel
• sand

Examples of mud in a Sentence

Noun (1)

He tracked mud into the house.

The car was stuck in the mud.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The corals and sponges had been dusted with the silty mud from the dredge. — Jenny Staletovich, Miami Herald, 30 July 2026

Some demonstrators marched through steady rain that day, and after police dismantled their tents, others rebuilt their camps in the mud that followed. — Penny Abeywardena, Forbes.com, 29 July 2026

Verb

Book the luxurious three-hour Frutos De La Vid (From The Vine) treatment, which includes a grape seed body scrub and red wine must mud wrap, along with your choice of massage. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 5 Jan. 2026

That blast obliterated a park boardwalk, ejecting rocks and mud hundreds of feet into the air. — Owen Clarke, Outside, 23 Dec. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English mudde, probably from Middle Low German

Noun (2)

Afrikaans mud, from Dutch, from Middle Dutch mud, mudde; akin to Old English mydd bushel, Old High German mutti; all from a prehistoric West Germanic word borrowed from Latin modius

First Known Use

Noun (1)

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1593, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing mud

• as clear as mud
• drag someone's name through the mud
• drag through the mire/mud
• drilling mud
• mud dauber
• mud flap
• mud pie
• mud puppy
• mud season
• mud turtle
• sling/throw mud
• someone's name is mud
• stick-in-the-mud

Rhymes for mud

• blood
• bud
• crud
• dud
• flood
• rud
• scud
• spud
• stud
• thud
• lifeblood
• youngblood

Kids Definition

mud

noun

ˈməd

: soft wet earth