mucky

/ˈmʌki/

//ˈmʌki// adj

"mucky" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“mucky” is uncommon English (frequency #67,662 among 4,057 “M” headwords), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

#67,662
frequency rank, English
4,057
“M” headwords

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Covered in muck.

Corpus desk

Index EN-mucky · mucky · English

mucky · rank #67,662 · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-RARE #67,662
  • LEN-MID 5 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,057
  • PHOTO-FINISH mortification

Nearest frequency peer: mortification (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Long-tail ranks near “mucky”

Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter

corpus weight

What this shows Long-tail view: where “mucky” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for mucky
PropertyValue
Headwordmucky
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈmʌki/
Letters5
Frequency rank#67,662
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Long-tail rank of “mucky” in English

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).muckyfalls in this rarity band:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Rare peers in the same band: “mortification” (#67,661), “MUDder” (#67,663), “morne” (#67,660). Among 4,057 “M” headwords, “mucky” is #67,662. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

mucky is uncommon English at frequency #67,662 among 4,057 “M” headwords, classed as anadjective, transcribed /ˈmʌki/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.

mucky doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

Etymologically, the entry records: From muck + -y. The correct English form is mucky, spelled M-U-C-K-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    Covered in muck.
  2. 2
    Obscene, pornographic.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how mucky appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Tell them if you want a mucky oven cleaned before the visit as special steam-cleaning equipment may be needed.
  2. a mucky magazine

Etymology

From muck + -y.

Synonyms

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "mucky"?
"mucky" is spelled M-U-C-K-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈmʌki/.
What does "mucky" mean?
As an adjective, "mucky" means: Covered in muck.
How do you pronounce "mucky"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "mucky" is /ˈmʌki/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "mucky"?
From muck + -y. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "mucky", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list