Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Dirty and messy; covered with mud or muck: Describes something that is soiled, grimy, or covered in wet, sticky dirt.
   • (Of soil or ground) soft, wet, and muddy; swampy: Describes land that is waterlogged, yielding, and difficult to walk on.

Usage

The word "mucky" is informal and often used to describe things that are unpleasantly dirty, especially with wet dirt or mud. It can describe physical objects, places, or conditions.

Examples

• Describing a dirty object or place:
  • After the rainstorm, the dog came inside with mucky paws.
  • They had to clean the mucky stable before the horses could return.
• Describing soft, wet ground:
  • The path became mucky after days of heavy rain.
  • We avoided the mucky lowland where our boots would sink.

Advanced Usage

• "mucky about/around" (British informal): To engage in messy or dirty activity.
  • The children were mucking about in the garden and got their clothes filthy.

Variants and Related Words

• Muck (noun/verb): Dirt or waste matter; to make dirty or to clean waste.
  • Noun: There was muck all over the floor.
  • Verb: I need to muck out the stables.
• Muckiness (noun): The state or quality of being mucky.

Synonyms

• Muddy: Full of or covered in mud.
• Filthy: Disgustingly dirty.
• Boggy: Too wet and muddy to be easily walked on; marshy.
• Swampy: Characteristic of a swamp; soft and wet.

Antonyms

• Clean: Free from dirt or impurities.
• Dry: Free from moisture or liquid.
• Arid: Very dry, especially of land or climate.

Related Phrases/Idioms

• "Muck in" (British informal): To join in and help with a task, especially a dirty or difficult one.
  • Everyone mucked in to clean up after the festival.
• "Where there's muck, there's brass" (British proverb): Suggests that dirty or unpleasant work can be profitable.
  • He didn't mind the mucky job because, as they say, where there's muck, there's brass.

Adjective

1. dirty and messy; covered with mud or muck
   • muddy boots
   • a mucky stable
2. (of soil) soft and watery
   • the ground was boggy under foot
   • a marshy coastline
   • miry roads
   • wet mucky lowland
   • muddy barnyard
   • quaggy terrain
   • the sloughy edge of the pond
   • swampy bayous