ENGLISH
REFERENCE

mood

n. · interj.
US //ˈmud// UK //mˈuːd// mood
  1. 1 emotional state (n.)
    B1 Intermediate

    the way you are feeling at a certain time, such as being happy or sad.

    a temporary state of mind or feeling.

    Example

    I am not in a good mood today because I didn't sleep well.

    Example

    The manager's unpredictable mood often dictated the office atmosphere, making the staff hesitant to approach him with concerns.
  2. 2 atmosphere (n.)
    B1 Intermediate

    the general feeling of a place, a situation, or a piece of art.

    the prevailing atmosphere or emotional character of a place, situation, or creative work.

    Example

    The soft music and low lights created a romantic mood in the restaurant.

    Example

    The director used a desaturated colour palette to establish a somber mood that reflected the protagonist's internal struggle.
Show 3 more sensesShow fewer
  1. 3 desire to do something (n.)
    B2 Upper Intermediate

    a feeling of wanting to do a specific activity.

    a state of mind receptive to or disposed toward a particular action.

    Example

    We were in the mood for pizza, so we ordered a large one for dinner.

    Example

    After a long week of technical writing, she found herself in no mood to engage in further intellectual debate at the dinner party.

    Usage

    Often used in the phrase 'in the mood for' or 'in the mood to'.
  2. 4 relatable thing (n.)
    C1 Advanced Slang Informal

    something that you find very relatable or that describes your current life.

    a relatable experience, image, or situation that reflects the speaker's current state.

    Example

    That cat sleeping all day is a total mood.

    Example

    Seeing a photo of a burnt piece of toast and captioning it 'mood' has become a common way to express a bad day on social media.

    Teacher's tip

    This is very common in internet culture, often used as a caption for a picture of someone looking tired or stressed.
  3. 5 I relate to that (interj.)
    C1 Advanced Slang Informal

    a word you say to show you agree or feel the same way about a situation.

    used as a standalone exclamation to signal strong agreement or personal identification with a situation.

    Example

    A: 'I just want to stay in bed all weekend.' B: 'Mood.'

    Example

    When the speaker complained about the endless rain, her friend simply replied 'Mood' to indicate she felt the same frustration.
Etymology 1

From Middle English mood, mode, mod, from Old English mōd (“mind,” in poetry also “heart, spirit, courage”), from Proto-West Germanic mōd, from Proto-Germanic mōdaz (“sense, courage, zeal, anger”), from Proto-Indo-European moh₁-, meh₁- (“endeavour, will, temper”). Cognates Cognate with Saterland Frisian Moud (“courage”), West Frisian moed (“courage; mind; spirit; will; intention”), Dutch moed (“bravery, courage; mood”), German Mut, Muth (“bravery, courage; mood”), German Low German Mood (“boldness, bravery, courage”), Luxembourgish Mutt (“courage”), Yiddish מוט (mut, “bravery, courage”), Danish and Swedish mod (“courage”), Faroese and Icelandic móður (“anger, wrath; fierce mood”), Norwegian Bokmål and Norwegian Nynorsk mot (“courage”), Gothic 𐌼𐍉𐌸𐍃 (mōþs, “mood; anger”), Vandalic *muths (“mind”); also Latin mōs (“behavior, conduct, manner; inclination, temperament; humour, will”), Bulgarian сме́я (sméja, “to dare”), Czech smět (“to be allowed; may”), Macedonian сме́е (smée, “to be allowed”), Polish śmieć (“dare”), Russian сметь (smetʹ, “to dare”), Serbo-Croatian сме̏ти, смје̏ти, smȅti, smjȅti (“to dare, venture”), Slovak smieť (“to be allowed; may”), Slovene smeti (“to be allowed; may”) Ukrainian смі́ти (smíty, “to dare”).

Etymology 2

Alteration of mode, from Latin modus, with specialized uses in grammar, music and logic.

Word family

© 2026 English Reference