What does "muddy" mean?

1. (covered in mud) covered or splashed with wet soil. 2. (not clear) not clear or bright, like a dark colour or a confusing sound. 3. (to make dirty) to cover something with mud or make a liquid cloudy. 4. (to complicate a situation) to make a situation or an idea more confusing and less clear.

muddy

adj. · v.

US //ˈmədi// UK //mˈʌdi// mud·dy

1 covered in mud (adj.)
A2 Elementary

covered or splashed with wet soil.

covered, splashed, or filled with mud; containing sediment in suspension.

Example

The children came inside with muddy boots after playing in the garden.

Example

The hikers struggled to maintain their footing on the muddy trail after three days of torrential rain had turned the path into a swamp.
- dirty
- grimy
- mucky
- clean
- spotless
2 not clear (adj.)
B2 Upper Intermediate

not clear or bright, like a dark colour or a confusing sound.

lacking clarity or brightness; used of colours that are dull or sounds that are muffled.

Example

The recording was old and had a muddy sound that made it hard to hear the singer.

Example

The artist's decision to mix too many pigments resulted in a muddy brown that lacked the vibrancy of the original sketch.

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3 to make dirty (v.)
B2 Upper Intermediate

to cover something with mud or make a liquid cloudy.

to soil with mud or to make a liquid turbid by stirring up sediment. Transitive use.

Example

The passing car splashed through a puddle and muddied my clean trousers.

Example

Heavy cattle traffic had muddied the stream to the point where the water was no longer suitable for the camp's filtration system.
- clean
- purify
4 to complicate a situation (v.)
B2 Upper Intermediate

to make a situation or an idea more confusing and less clear.

to make a matter, argument, or situation more complicated or less clear; often used in the phrase 'muddy the waters'.

Example

Adding more rules now will only muddy the situation for the new staff.

Example

The lawyer's constant interruptions seemed designed to muddy the waters and distract the jury from the primary evidence.
- clarify
- simplify

Etymology 1

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”))

Etymology 2

From mud (crab) + -y (diminutive suffix).

Idioms3 entries