muck

1 of 2

noun

ˈmək 

1

: soft moist farmyard manure

2

: slimy dirt or filth

3

a

: defamatory remarks or writings

b

: rubbish, nonsense

mindless muck

4

a(1)

: dark highly organic soil

(2)

: mire, mud

b

: something resembling muck : gunk

5

: material removed in the process of excavating or mining

muck

2 of 2

verb

mucked; mucking; mucks

transitive verb

1

a

: to clean up

especially : to clear of manure or filth

—usually used with out

b

: to clear of muck

2

: to dress (something, such as soil) with muck

3

: to dirty with or as if with muck : soil

intransitive verb

1

: to move or load muck (as in a mine)

2

a

: to engage in aimless activity

—usually used with about or around

b

: putter, tinker

—usually used with about or around

mucking around with his computer

c

: interfere, meddle

—usually used with about or around

mucker noun

Synonyms

Noun

• crud
• dirt
• filth
• grime
• gunk
• smut
• soil

Verb

• befoul
• begrime
• bemire
• besmirch
• blacken
• daub
• dirty
• distain [archaic]
• foul
• gaum [dialect]
• grime
• mire
• muddy
• smirch
• smudge
• soil
• stain
• sully

Examples of muck in a Sentence

Noun

Clean that muck off your shoes.

spattered with muck from the pigpen

Verb

you can't work in the garden and not expect to muck your clothes

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

As people dig out of the muck and survey the damage to their homes and cities, stories of heroic rescues and devastating losses are coming to light. —NBC News, 4 Oct. 2024

Rivers overflowed, and a chunk of one of the state’s major highways collapsed, cutting off communities; floods slung mud and muck into buildings. —Marina Koren, The Atlantic, 30 Sep. 2024

Verb

Mannie then interjected that social media has a habit of mucking things up. —Angel Diaz, Billboard, 23 Oct. 2024

No need to muck a barn or toss a bale of hay to wear one of the autumn'sbiggest trends — workwear is no longer for work’s sake (at least not exclusively). —Aemilia Madden, refinery29.com, 21 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English muk, perhaps from Old English -moc; akin to Old Norse myki dung

First Known Use

Noun

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

Phrases Containing muck

• high-muck-a-muck
• high-muckety-muck
• make a muck of (something)
• muck about/around
• muck about/around with
• muck-a-muck
• muckety-muck
• muck in
• muck out
• muck up
• mucky-muck

Kids Definition

muck

1 of 2 noun

ˈmək

1

: soft moist barnyard manure

2

: dirt sense 1, filth

3

a

: dark rich soil

b

: mud, mire

mucky

ˈmək-ē

adjective

muck

2 of 2 verb

1

: to clean up

especially : to clear of manure or filth

2

: to dress with muck

3

: to dirty with or as if with muck