muddy.
Covered or splashed with, or full of, mud (“wet soil”).
Meaning & usage
Covered or splashed with, or full of, mud (“wet soil”).
He slogged across the muddy field.
Take off your muddy boots before you come inside.
Of water or some other liquid: containing mud or (by extension) other sediment in suspension; cloudy, turbid.
The previously limpid water was now muddy as a result of the struggle between the alligator and the wild boar.
Of or relating to mud; also, having the characteristics of mud, especially in colour or taste.
Soiled with feces.
Of an animal or plant: growing or living in mud.
Dirty, filthy.
Not clear.
Not clear. Of a colour: not bright: dirty, dull.
Not clear. Of an image: blurry or dim.
Not clear. Of light: cloudy, opaque.
Not clear. Of sound (especially during performance, recording, or playback): indistinct, muffled.
The television picture is decent, but the sound is muddy.
Not clear. Of speech, thinking, or writing: ambiguous or vague; or confused, incoherent, or mixed-up; also, poorly expressed.
Not clear. Of the air: not fresh; impure, polluted.
Originally, morally or religiously wrong; corrupt, sinful; now, morally or legally dubious; shady, sketchy.
Of a person or their facial expression: angry, sad, or sulky.
Slightly drunk; tipsy.
Where this word comes from
The adjective is derived from Late Middle English muddi, moddy, muddy (“covered with or full of mud, muddy”), from mud, mudde (“mud; turbid water”) + -i (suffix forming adjectives). Mud, mudde is possibly borrowed from Middle Dutch modde, and/or Middle Low German modde, mudde, from Proto-Germanic *mud-, *mudra- (“mud”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *mū-, *mew- (“moist”). The English word is analysable as mud + -y (suffix meaning ‘having the quality of’ forming adjectives). Doublet of muddle. The verb is derived from the adjective. cognates * Middle Low German moddich, muddich (German Low German muddig (“muddy; mouldy”))
To cover or splash (someone or something) with mud.
If you muddy your shoes don’t wear them inside.
To make (water or some other liquid) cloudy or turbid by stirring up mud or other sediment.
To confuse (a person or their thinking); to muddle.
The discussion only muddied their understanding of the subject.
To damage (a person or their reputation); to sully, to tarnish.
To make (a colour) dirty, dull, or muted.
The addition of the second batch of paint muddied the bright colours to a dull and washed look.
To make (a matter, etc.) more complicated or unclear; to make a mess of (something).
To make (something) impure; to contaminate.
To cause or permit (someone or something) to become stuck in mud; to mire.
Sometimes followed by up: to become covered or splashed with mud; to become dirty or soiled.
Of water or some other liquid: to become cloudy or turbid.
To become contaminated or impure.
Where this word comes from
The adjective is derived from Late Middle English muddi, moddy, muddy (“covered with or full of mud, muddy”), from mud, mudde (“mud; turbid water”) + -i (suffix forming adjectives). Mud, mudde is possibly borrowed from Middle Dutch modde, and/or Middle Low German modde, mudde, from Proto-Germanic *mud-, *mudra- (“mud”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *mū-, *mew- (“moist”). The English word is analysable as mud + -y (suffix meaning ‘having the quality of’ forming adjectives). Doublet of muddle. The verb is derived from the adjective. cognates * Middle Low German moddich, muddich (German Low German muddig (“muddy; mouldy”))
The edible mud crab or mangrove crab (Scylla serrata).
Where this word comes from
From mud (crab) + -y (diminutive suffix).
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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.