mud

MUD/mʌd/

Pluralmuds, mudden

Verbmuds, mudding, mudded

15 meanings of mud

Practice

1
nouncountable or uncountable
Soft, wet earth formed when soil or fine sediment mixes with water; in geology, sediment made of silt and clay particles finer than sand.
The truck's tires spun uselessly in the deep mud.
Hippos wallow in mud to keep cool and protect their skin from the sun.
UsageUsually without a: stuck in the mud, covered in mud; muds is mainly for comparing kinds.
Similarmire, muck, sludge, ooze
2
political attacksnounfigurativelycountable or uncountable
Willfully abusive or slanderous remarks or accusations, especially those exchanged between political opponents.
The campaign slung mud at its rival instead of debating policy.
Tabloids printed every piece of mud the divorce lawyers could dig up.
UsageUsually sling mud or throw mud at someone; the practice is mudslinging.
Similardirt, slander, smear
Note
Here the dirt is thrown at a reputation. Unlike slander or libel, it is not a legal term. It pictures abuse as messy and indiscriminate, and it is often said of both sides in a campaign at once.
3
verbtransitive
To spread mud, or a plaster-like compound, over a surface such as a wall or drywall seams; less often, to make something muddy or cloud water.
Dad spent Saturday mudding the cracks in the garage wall and sanding them smooth.
Villagers mud the walls of the huts each spring to seal out drafts.
UsageThe forms double the d: mudded, mudding; often mud the cracks or the drywall seams.
Similardaub, plaster, dirty
Note
It covers accidental dirtying, as when rain muds a trail, and also the deliberate work of plastering with mud, as when walls are mudded each spring. It can also mean clouding water by stirring up sediment from the bottom, as wading cattle mud a shallow pond.
4
wall pastenouncountable or uncountable
A plaster-like mixture spread on drywall to smooth or texture its surface.
She applied three coats of mud to the patched section before painting.
The crew taped the joints and covered them with mud the same afternoon.
Similarcompound
5
drilling fluidnouncountable or uncountable
Drilling fluid; the liquid circulated through a well during drilling operations.
Engineers adjusted the density of the mud to keep the well under control.
The rig recycles its mud, filtering out rock cuttings at the surface.

Less common meanings

6
wet concretenounslangcountable or uncountable
Concrete that is still wet while workers mix it, transport it, or pour it into place.
The foreman ordered ten more yards of mud for the foundation.
The crew raced to smooth the mud for the new sidewalk before it set.
Similarconcrete
Note
Jobsite slang for concrete while it is still wet: in the mixer, in the truck, going into the forms. Once it has set, it is concrete again, and in specifications or contracts concrete is the word to use. It sits beside the drywall finisher's mud as another trade use of the everyday word for a wet, workable paste.
7
coffeenounslangcountable or uncountable
Coffee.
He can't string two sentences together until he's had his morning mud.
She topped off everyone's mud and slid the check onto the table.
UsageOften a cup of mud or my morning mud; it jokes about strong, dark coffee.
Similarcoffee, joe, java
Note
Originally American slang, and teasing rather than insulting: to call coffee mud is to joke about a brew that is dark, thick or strong. It fits a diner counter or a camp stove, and it lands well in a morning-routine joke. On a café menu or in formal prose, though, it would read as a put-down of the coffee.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 1 fact
The coffee sense of mud originated in American slang. en.wiktionary.org
8
nounslangcountable or uncountable
A slang term for heroin or opium.
He was arrested with three grams of mud and a bundle of used needles.
By twenty-five she was shooting mud daily just to hold off the sickness.
Similarsmack, junk, horse
9
nounslang
Money, especially when it comes from dirty or dishonest business.
10
verb
To spend time playing in a MUD (multi-user dungeon) alongside other users.
11
nounslang
A Black person; used as a derogatory racial slur.
12
nounslang
Fecal matter brought into view by anal intercourse.
13
verbobsolete
To go beneath the mud, as an eel does.
14
noun
An old Dutch measure of capacity for dry goods, varying in size but often about three bushels; also, the box used to measure it.
15
noun
In the Netherlands, a traditional land measure roughly equal to the area that could be sown with a mud of seed.

Practice

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Origin

Middle English mud, also spelled mudde or mode, was probably borrowed from Middle Low German mudde or Middle Dutch mod, modde. These go back to Proto-Germanic *mud-, perhaps from a Proto-Indo-European root meaning "moist." Swedish modd ("slush") and Dutch modder ("mud") are related. Another view holds that the Germanic word may have been borrowed from a Uralic language.