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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

mold.

A hollow form or matrix for shaping a fluid or plastic substance.

4 characters1 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/məʊld/UK/mɔʊld/UK/moʊld/US
  1. A hollow form or matrix for shaping a fluid or plastic substance.

    US · countable · uncountable
  2. A frame or model around or on which something is formed or shaped.

    US · countable · uncountable
  3. Something that is made in or shaped on a mold.

    US · countable · uncountable
  4. The shape or pattern of a mold.

    US · countable · uncountable
  5. General shape or form.

    US · countable · uncountable
    the oval mold of her face
  6. Distinctive character or type.

    US · countable · uncountable
    a leader in the mold of her predecessors
  7. A fixed or restrictive pattern or form.

    US · countable · uncountable
    His method of scientific investigation broke the mold and led to a new discovery.
  8. A group of moldings.

    US · countable · uncountable
    the arch mold of a porch or doorway;  the pier mold of a Gothic pier, meaning the whole profile, section, or combination of parts
  9. A fontanelle.

    US · countable · uncountable
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Old French modlebor. Middle English molde English mold From Middle English molde (“mold, cast”), from Old French modle, mole, from Latin modulus, from Latin modus. Doublet of module, modulus, and model.

verb/məʊld/UK/mɔʊld/UK/moʊld/US
  1. To shape in or on a mold; to form into a particular shape; to give shape to.

    US · transitive
  2. To guide or determine the growth or development of; influence

    US · transitive
  3. To fit closely by following the contours of.

    US · transitive
  4. To make a mold of or from (molten metal, for example) before casting.

    US · transitive
  5. To ornament with moldings.

    US · transitive
  6. To be shaped in or as if in a mold.

    US · intransitive
    These shoes gradually molded to my feet.
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Old French modlebor. Middle English molde English mold From Middle English molde (“mold, cast”), from Old French modle, mole, from Latin modulus, from Latin modus. Doublet of module, modulus, and model.

noun/məʊld/UK/mɔʊld/UK/moʊld/US
  1. A natural substance in the form of a furry or woolly growth of tiny fungi that appears when organic material lies for a long time exposed to (usually warm and moist) air.

    US · countable · uncountable
    She took the cheese out of the refrigerator and inspected it for mold.
  2. A fungus that creates such furry growths.

    US · countable · uncountable
Where this word comes from

From Middle English mowlde, noun use and alteration of mowled, past participle of mowlen, moulen (“to grow moldy”), from Old Norse mygla (compare dialectal Danish mugle), from Proto-Germanic *muglōną, diminutive and denominative of *mukiz 'soft substance' (compare Old Norse myki, mykr (“cow dung”)), from Proto-Indo-European *mewk- (“slick, soft”). More at muck and meek.

verb/məʊld/UK/mɔʊld/UK/moʊld/US
  1. To cause to become moldy; to cause mold to grow upon.

    US · transitive
  2. To become moldy; to be covered or filled, in whole or in part, with a mold.

    US · intransitive
Where this word comes from

From Middle English mowlde, noun use and alteration of mowled, past participle of mowlen, moulen (“to grow moldy”), from Old Norse mygla (compare dialectal Danish mugle), from Proto-Germanic *muglōną, diminutive and denominative of *mukiz 'soft substance' (compare Old Norse myki, mykr (“cow dung”)), from Proto-Indo-European *mewk- (“slick, soft”). More at muck and meek.

noun/məʊld/UK/mɔʊld/UK/moʊld/US
  1. Loose friable soil, rich in humus and fit for planting.

    US · countable · uncountable
  2. Earth, ground.

    UK · US · countable · dialectal · plural · uncountable
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *melh₂- Proto-Indo-European *-tós Proto-Indo-European *ml̥h₂téh₂ Proto-Germanic *muldō Proto-West Germanic *moldu Old English molde Middle English molde English mold From Middle English molde, from Old English molde, from Proto-Germanic *muldō (“dirt, soil”) (compare Old Frisian molde, Middle Dutch moude, Dutch moude, obsolete German Molte, Norwegian Bokmål mold, and Gothic 𐌼𐌿𐌻𐌳𐌰 (mulda)), from Proto-Indo-European *ml̥h₂-téh₂ (compare Ashkun mič, Kamkata-viri muři, mřey, mřëi, Prasuni mire, Waigali muk, all meaning "clay").

verb/məʊld/UK/mɔʊld/UK/moʊld/US
  1. To cover with mold or soil.

    US
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *melh₂- Proto-Indo-European *-tós Proto-Indo-European *ml̥h₂téh₂ Proto-Germanic *muldō Proto-West Germanic *moldu Old English molde Middle English molde English mold From Middle English molde, from Old English molde, from Proto-Germanic *muldō (“dirt, soil”) (compare Old Frisian molde, Middle Dutch moude, Dutch moude, obsolete German Molte, Norwegian Bokmål mold, and Gothic 𐌼𐌿𐌻𐌳𐌰 (mulda)), from Proto-Indo-European *ml̥h₂-téh₂ (compare Ashkun mič, Kamkata-viri muři, mřey, mřëi, Prasuni mire, Waigali muk, all meaning "clay").

noun/məʊld/UK/mɔʊld/UK/moʊld/US
  1. The top or crown of the head.

    US · dialectal · obsolete · uncountable
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ml̥Hdʰṓ Proto-Germanic *muldô Proto-West Germanic *moldō Old English molda Middle English molde English mold From Middle English molde (“top of the head”), from Old English molda, molde, from Proto-West Germanic *moldō, from Proto-Germanic *muldô, from a Proto-Indo-European *ml̥Hdʰṓ, parallel to Sanskrit मूर्धन् (mūrdhán).

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.