noun

MUD

muhd

noun

A soft, wet mixture of soil and water.

"The kids were covered in mud after playing in the yard."

"Our boots got stuck in the mud on the trail."

Harsh, damaging accusations meant to smear someone's reputation.

"The rival campaigns spent the debate slinging mud at each other."

"None of the mud thrown at her seemed to stick."

verb

To cover or dirty something with mud.

"The truck mudded the whole driveway after the storm."

"Don't mud up the carpet with those boots."

How to Use MUD

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishWet dirt — or, figuratively, unfair insults thrown to damage someone's reputation.

Common mistake

"Sling mud" means to make damaging accusations, not literally throwing dirt.

Common pairings

sling mud stuck in the mud mud on your face

mudded past tense, mudded past tense, muds plural, muds plural, mudden plural, muds singular, muds singular

Study it as flashcards or scroll it in Flow — saved to your collection.

Test yourself on “MUD” A quick quiz — meaning, synonyms & usage →

Can you complete this real example?

The kids were covered in _____ after playing in the yard.

Traced back through Middle English mudde, likely related to a Middle Dutch word for mud, and further back to a Proto-Germanic root.

Dutch bushel bushel muid

bushel

Talmud Mahmud

Dutch bushel bushel muid