1
as in dirt
foul matter that mars the purity or cleanliness of something
spattered with muck from the pigpen
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
3
4
as in garbage
language, behavior, or ideas that are absurd and contrary to good sense
there's some solid substance in this book, but the reader has to trudge through a lot of muck to get to it
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in to stain
to make dirty
you can't work in the garden and not expect to muck your clothes
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of muck
CBS News, 3 Jan. 2026
Guests are geared up for activities in the basement muck room, where cubbies outfitted with wader boot dryers store rain jackets and dry suits.
—Lane Nieset, Travel + Leisure, 26 Dec. 2025
Wesley Stenzel, Entertainment Weekly, 2 Dec. 2025
Spencer said that vibe came out of a band — which has been filled with Tweedy family pals including members of Finom — at liberty to muck about with the arrangements.
—Jed Gottlieb, Boston Herald, 12 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for muck
Noun
And in fitting Tomlin style, Pittsburgh let a chance to wrap up the division slip away during a three-hour pratfall in the muck at Cleveland last weekend.
—CBS News, 3 Jan. 2026
Guests are geared up for activities in the basement muck room, where cubbies outfitted with wader boot dryers store rain jackets and dry suits.
—Lane Nieset, Travel + Leisure, 26 Dec. 2025
Verb
The sequence offers a distressing yet strangely cathartic vision of our total demise, where the world seems more peaceful without any human endeavors mucking it up.
—Wesley Stenzel, Entertainment Weekly, 2 Dec. 2025
Spencer said that vibe came out of a band — which has been filled with Tweedy family pals including members of Finom — at liberty to muck about with the arrangements.
—Jed Gottlieb, Boston Herald, 12 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for muck
Recent Examples of Synonyms for muck
Noun
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Start by rinsing the beans under cool, running water to remove any dirt or grit.—
Riley Wofford,
Martha Stewart,
21 Feb. 2026
-
Daily foot traffic makes wood floors prone to dirt, grime, and dust, so proper care is needed.—
Maria Sabella,
The Spruce,
21 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Other highlights include a wellness area with a sauna and gym, a diving room, a mud room, and a sprawling beach club of nearly 2,200 square feet.—
Rachel Cormack,
Robb Report,
24 Feb. 2026
-
Korea, in particular, lived in the American imagination mostly as grainy Movietone war footage—mud, sandbags, Marines—certainly not as a place that might produce a hit record, starlets, or anything resembling glamour.—
Margaret Heidenry,
Vanity Fair,
24 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Furthermore, a study conducted by Emily White in December found that 32% of respondents who were taking part in the iPod’s revival were Gen Z — meaning this isn’t purely a nostalgia play by older millennials digging through junk drawers.—
Ryan Brennan,
Kansas City Star,
23 Feb. 2026
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Her young daughter loves being in the shop too, watching her mom transform cars from junk into treasure.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
23 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Schools currently consider animals as equipment to be repeatedly thrown in the garbage, while alternative methods are a one-time investment.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
22 Feb. 2026
-
Barely present workers dragged garbage bins, arranged displays of crappy snacks, and wiped counters with slow, heavy movements.—
Mary Gaitskill,
New Yorker,
22 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Worshippers arriving for the day's first prayers found the damage and a smoldering fire that spewed black smoke across the entrance of the Abu Bakr Al-Siddiq Mosque in the town of Tell, near Nablus, and stained the ornate doorway.—
AREF TUFAHA,
Arkansas Online,
24 Feb. 2026
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Don’t toss that scratched-up, questionably stained, borderline EPA Superfund site, 12-year-old cutting board just yet!—
Catherina Gioino,
Fortune,
24 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Mushy brown, black, or yellow leaves, soggy soil that’s smelly, and drooping all point to too much water.—
Karen Brewer Grossman,
Southern Living,
22 Feb. 2026
-
Select a spot that gets six to eight hours of full sun and well-draining soil.—
SJ McShane,
Martha Stewart,
22 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Italian seasoning, Gruyère cheese, and roasted red peppers make this chicken anything but bland.—
Kimberly Holland,
Southern Living,
23 Feb. 2026
-
At the Port Authority Bus Terminal expansion, half a mile uptown, Staller trained his lens on giant tubes of steel rimmed with teeth—core drill sections, frosted with snow, like colossal ziti topped with mozzarella cheese—which a crane was hoisting into place.—
Nick Paumgarten,
New Yorker,
23 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
But the jumble of words coming out of Harper’s mouth is nonsense.—
Amanda Whiting,
Vulture,
16 Feb. 2026
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Aside from how much human assistance the AIs had, the vast bulk of the submissions appear to be a lot of very convincing nonsense.—
Joseph Howlett,
Scientific American,
14 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Muck.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/muck. Accessed 26 Feb. 2026.
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