mute

\ ˈmyüt

How to pronounce mute (audio)

\

muter; mutest

Definition of mute

(Entry 1 of 4)

1 : unable to speak : lacking the power of speech

2 : characterized by absence of speech: such as

a : felt or experienced but not expressed touched her hand in mute sympathy her mute hostility

b : refusing to plead directly or stand trial the prisoner stands mute

3 : remaining silent, undiscovered, or unrecognized The hounds generally hunt mute, so they can get close to the game.

4a : contributing nothing to the pronunciation of a word the b in plumb is mute

b : contributing to the pronunciation of a word but not representing the nucleus of a syllable the e in mate is mute

mute

Definition of mute (Entry 2 of 4)

1 : stop sense 9

2 sometimes offensive : a person who cannot speak

3 : a device attached to or inserted into a musical instrument to soften or alter its tone

mute

muted; muting

Definition of mute (Entry 3 of 4)

transitive verb

1 : to muffle, reduce, or eliminate the sound of

2 : to tone down : soften, subdue mute a color

mute

muted; muting

Definition of mute (Entry 4 of 4)

intransitive verb

of a bird

: to evacuate the cloaca

Other Words from mute Synonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about mute

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Examples of mute in a Sentence

Adjective They hugged each other in mute sympathy. I could see a mute plea for help in his eyes. Noun I was practicing my trumpet at three in the morning when the mute fell out, and I managed to wake everyone up.

Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective Her tough stance for police reform in recent months, including co-authoring a Senate bill to ban police chokeholds and other steps, has helped mute criticism from advocates of her own record as a prosecutor. — Jennifer Epstein, Bloomberg.com, "Biden Picks California Senator Kamala Harris as His Running Mate," 11 Aug. 2020 There is also a mute switch on the boom microphone. — Jim Rossman, Dallas News, "Aria Me headphones test your hearing, then adjust the sound to fit your ear," 6 Aug. 2020 At a hypersensitive moment when even an outspoken mega-hyphenate like LeBron James goes mute from China anxiety, Carrey and Vachon conjure brutal visions of the Cultural Revolution. — Darren Franich, EW.com, "Jim Carrey talks Memoirs and Misinformation, his novel about Jim Carrey," 7 July 2020 During the event, the photographer's wife managed the technology and had to pause before the ceremony and mute everyone's microphones to avoid background noise. — Matt Villano, CNN, "Virtual weddings done right by couples undeterred by the pandemic," 22 June 2020 History is much more complex than carvings that remember a handful of influential men, mute monoliths above a plaque of few words. — Tim Lister, CNN, "Cathartic acts of rage, or the rewriting of history? How statues became political lightning rods," 14 June 2020 The constitutional crisis, of course, continues unabated, and could worsen if Trump decides to fire his top general for having the temerity to be anything more than a mute uniform in the background. — Adam Weinstein, The New Republic, "America’s Top General Isn’t That Sorry," 11 June 2020 Coaches and general managers all have mute buttons for their feeds, and they weren’t being pressed. — Joseph Goodman | Jgoodman@al.com, al, "Give us unscripted laughs, dogs and crazy uncles, NFL Draft," 23 Apr. 2020 Cruz stood mute last year when he was asked for a plea — refusing to admit or deny guilt. — Rafael Olmeda, sun-sentinel.com, "Parkland shooter can’t keep visitor list secret," 15 Aug. 2019 Recent Examples on the Web: Noun The Masters, known as much for the roars as the raw beauty of Augusta National, will be on mute this year. — Doug Ferguson, Star Tribune, "No roars at Augusta as Masters to be played without fans," 12 Aug. 2020 Doctor's warning: Try watching on mute if the play-by-play from Rob Riggle and Joe Tessitore causes your ears to bleed. — Bill Keveney, USA TODAY, "Lava, tag and mini-golf: Ranking summer's reality TV games for escapist fun in difficult times," 14 July 2020 Valtierra, who has attended numerous galas online, has noticed the etiquette of staying on mute for work spills over into social time. — Kelsey Ables, Washington Post, "All these Zoom birthdays and weddings are fine, but will we actually savor the memories?," 10 July 2020 The first step is to take advantage of the controls that are within apps and sites, such as block, mute and report. — Megan Marples, CNN, "Some cyberbullies show signs of PTSD, according to a UK study," 24 June 2020 But after midnight, on my laptop, Guimarães flipped over one named card and then another and another and another and another until each window showed one or more spectators, collectively losing their minds on mute. — Alexis Soloski, New York Times, "Is the Hand Quicker Than the Zoom Window?," 15 May 2020 Version seven, featuring the dazzling Venezuelan singer Ahyvin Bruno, may be their best yet—a Cuban son, an Afro-Caribbean style, on which Stroink and Boltó play trumpet and trombone with cup mutes. — Jonathan Blitzer, The New Yorker, "The Boys Making Beautiful Quarantine Songs on a Barcelona Rooftop," 25 Mar. 2020 It's got Mad Max: Fury Road vibes all over it, minus a mute Tom Hardy. — Bianca Rodriguez, Marie Claire, "'Parasite' Is Coming to Hulu," 3 Apr. 2020 One 2016 survey found that as much as 85% of all video views on Facebook were with the sound off, and a 2019 study showed that the vast majority of videos consumed on mobile devices are watched on mute. — Olivia B. Waxman, Time, "How Deaf Advocates Won the Battle for Closed Captioning and Changed the Way Americans Watch TV," 16 Mar. 2020 Recent Examples on the Web: Verb No noise-cancelling headphone can truly mute everything, and that won't change here, but any progress toward negating those higher-end noises would be a good thing. — Jeff Dunn, Ars Technica, "Sony takes on Bose with new WH-1000XM4 noise-cancelling headphones," 6 Aug. 2020 Measurements of owls in flight show that their wings mute only frequencies higher than 1,600 hertz (on a piano, two-and-a-half octaves above middle C). — Dana Mackenzie, Smithsonian Magazine, "To Silence Wind Turbines and Airplanes, Engineers Are Studying Owl Wings," 15 Apr. 2020 Unable to mute his phone, the judge rescheduled the hearing for Aug. 21, with the restraining order remaining in place. — Jeremy Hallock, Dallas News, "Dallas-bred filmmaker Shane Carruth accused of abusing ex-girlfriend Amy Seimetz," 29 July 2020 People are asked to mute their phones until their name is called. — Lauren Castle, The Arizona Republic, "Maricopa County justice courts experience 'new norm' with COVID-19," 7 July 2020 Ladd has had to mute comments and remove posts to keep the dialogue civil. — Gregory Thomas, SFChronicle.com, "‘To hike or not to hike?’ Pacific Crest Trail can’t escape coronavirus debate," 4 July 2020 And someone else forgot to mute their phone before using the bathroom (no apology followed). — Morgan Marietta, The Conversation, "Supreme Court phoning it in means better arguments, more public engagement," 9 June 2020 Other council members appeared shocked and angry over the mayor’s decision to mute the city manager’s mic. — Hayat Norimine, Dallas News, "Late-night Dallas City Council session offered first glimpses of police reform, but bickering stole the show," 6 June 2020 At one point, Goldstein had to ask the other members of the call to mute their phones. — Cassandra Gauthier, CBS News, "14-year-old pleads guilty in Tessa Majors case," 3 June 2020 Recent Examples on the Web: Verb Her visibility on police reform in recent months, including co-authoring a Senate bill to ban police chokeholds and take other steps, helped mute criticism of her record as a prosecutor. — Jeffrey Taylor Bloomberg News (tns), Star Tribune, "Biden's running-mate selection: The pros and cons of Kamala Harris," 12 Aug. 2020 No noise-cancelling headphone can truly mute everything, and that won't change here, but any progress toward negating those higher-end noises would be a good thing. — Jeff Dunn, Ars Technica, "Sony takes on Bose with new WH-1000XM4 noise-cancelling headphones," 6 Aug. 2020 Measurements of owls in flight show that their wings mute only frequencies higher than 1,600 hertz (on a piano, two-and-a-half octaves above middle C). — Dana Mackenzie, Smithsonian Magazine, "To Silence Wind Turbines and Airplanes, Engineers Are Studying Owl Wings," 15 Apr. 2020 Unable to mute his phone, the judge rescheduled the hearing for Aug. 21, with the restraining order remaining in place. — Jeremy Hallock, Dallas News, "Dallas-bred filmmaker Shane Carruth accused of abusing ex-girlfriend Amy Seimetz," 29 July 2020 People are asked to mute their phones until their name is called. — Lauren Castle, The Arizona Republic, "Maricopa County justice courts experience 'new norm' with COVID-19," 7 July 2020 Ladd has had to mute comments and remove posts to keep the dialogue civil. — Gregory Thomas, SFChronicle.com, "‘To hike or not to hike?’ Pacific Crest Trail can’t escape coronavirus debate," 4 July 2020 And someone else forgot to mute their phone before using the bathroom (no apology followed). — Morgan Marietta, The Conversation, "Supreme Court phoning it in means better arguments, more public engagement," 9 June 2020 Other council members appeared shocked and angry over the mayor’s decision to mute the city manager’s mic. — Hayat Norimine, Dallas News, "Late-night Dallas City Council session offered first glimpses of police reform, but bickering stole the show," 6 June 2020

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

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Statistics for mute

Last Updated

14 Aug 2020

Cite this Entry

“Mute.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mute. Accessed 22 Aug. 2020.

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More Definitions for mute

mute

adjective

English Language Learners Definition of mute

(Entry 1 of 2)

: not able or willing to speak

: felt or expressed without the use of words

mute

noun

English Language Learners Definition of mute (Entry 2 of 2)

sometimes offensive : a person who cannot speak

: a device on a musical instrument (such as a trumpet) that makes its sound much softer

See the full definition for mute in the English Language Learners Dictionary

mute

\ ˈmyüt

\

muter; mutest

Kids Definition of mute

(Entry 1 of 3)

1 : unable or unwilling to speak The shy boy sat mute through class.

2 : felt or expressed without the use of words He touched her hand in mute sympathy.

mute

Kids Definition of mute (Entry 2 of 3)

1 : a person who cannot or does not speak

2 : a device on a musical instrument that deadens, softens, or muffles its tone

mute

muted; muting

Kids Definition of mute (Entry 3 of 3)

: to soften or reduce the sound of We muted our voices.

mute

\ ˈmyüt

\

muter; mutest

Medical Definition of mute

(Entry 1 of 2)

: unable to speak : lacking the power of speech

mute

Medical Definition of mute (Entry 2 of 2)

: one who cannot or does not speak

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