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Mutt can now be used with either affection or disdain to refer to a dog that is not purebred, but in the word's early history, in the U.S. around the turn of the 20th century, it could also be used to describe a person—and not kindly: mutt was another word for "fool." The word's history lies in another insult. It comes from muttonhead, another Americanism that also means essentially "fool." Muttonhead had been around since the early 19th century but it was not unlike an older insult with the same meaning: people had been calling one another "sheep's heads" since the mid-16th century.
Examples of mutt in a Sentence
Richard Edwards, Space.com, 13 Dec. 2025
With that reverse gear caused by Baker Mayfield’s struggles and bad red-zone defense, TB now finds itself in an NFC South mutt-fight with Carolina in a winner-take-all division that likely won’t see the runner-up with a wild-card spot.
—Greg Cote
december 10, Miami Herald, 10 Dec. 2025
The video shows his two pet dogs, with a mutt named Thunder in the lead, nuzzling open a sliding door to get outside into the yard.
—CBS News, 10 Dec. 2025
What to know about Bo Bo, a classic mutt comprised of several breeds, including pit bull, according to The Tennessean, part of the USA TODAY Network, was found wandering the streets of Florida in 2022.
—Saman Shafiq, USA Today, 7 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for mutt
Cite this Entry
“Mutt.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mutt. Accessed 15 Dec. 2025.
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