mussel

noun

mus·​sel ˈmə-səl 

1

: a marine bivalve mollusk (especially genus Mytilus) usually having a dark elongated shell

2

: a freshwater bivalve mollusk (as of Unio, Anodonta, or related genera) that is especially abundant in rivers of the central U.S. and has a shell lined with mother-of-pearl

Examples of mussel in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The menu here includes a raw bar filled with oysters, seafood cocktail with tomato avocado, Bangs Island mussels with green curry, and tuna crudo, as well as hors d’oeuvres like steak tartare and frog legs Kiev. —Nicole Hoey, Robb Report, 5 Nov. 2025

Health inspectors said mussels were missing a sticky note indicating when they should be discarded. —Sacbee.com, 31 Oct. 2025

Invasive mussels, for example, cause around a billion dollars in infrastructural damage every year in the Great Lakes region. —Katie Thornton, New Yorker, 24 Oct. 2025

For his biology class, traditional on-campus students headed to a lake to hunt for mussels. —Kelly Meyerhofer, jsonline.com, 23 Oct. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English muscle, from Old English muscelle, from Vulgar Latin *muscula, from Latin musculus muscle, mussel

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing mussel

• blue mussel
• quagga mussel
• zebra mussel

Rhymes for mussel

• bustle
• hustle
• muscle
• russel
• rustle
• trussell
• tussle
• mofussil

Kids Definition

mussel

noun

mus·​sel ˈməs-əl 

1

: any of various edible saltwater mollusks with a long dark hinged double shell

2

: any of numerous freshwater mollusks of rivers of the central U.S. whose hinged double shells are lined with mother-of-pearl