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muzzle

/ˈmʌzəl/noun, verb

muzzle is spelled M-U-Z-Z-L-E: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 2.0 times per million words in written English, the 19,336th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, muzzle means “The protruding part of an animal's head which includes the nose, mouth and jaws” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of muzzle is muzzles.

How many letters and syllables are in muzzle?

Letters6: M-U-Z-Z-L-E
Syllables2 (from its American pronunciation)
In writing2.0 times per million words; the 19,336th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How common is muzzle?

Muzzle appears 2.0 times per million words in written English, the 19,336th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce muzzle?

  • /ˈmʌzəl/

Muzzle has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-muzzle.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Forms of muzzle

  • muzzles plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • muzzling participle, present
  • muzzled participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does muzzle mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

    The protruding part of an animal's head which includes the nose, mouth and jaws.

  2. 2

    derogatoryslangA person's mouth.

  3. 3

    A device used to prevent an animal from biting or eating, which is worn on its snout.

  4. 4

    The mouth or the end for entrance or discharge of a gun, pistol etc., that the bullet emerges from.

  5. 5

    ScotlandA piece of the forward end of the plow-beam by which the traces are attached.

  6. 6

    obsoleteAn openwork covering for the nose, used for the defense of the horse, and forming part of the bards in the 15th and 16th centuries.

verb

  1. 1

    To bind or confine an animal's mouth by putting a muzzle, as to prevent it from eating or biting.

  2. 2

    To restrain (from speaking, expressing opinion or acting); to gag; to silence; to censor.

    Those who want to muzzle everyone else are likely nothing less than pseudovirtuous.

  3. 3

    obsoleteTo veil, mask, muffle.

  4. 4

    obsoleteTo fondle with the closed mouth; to nuzzle.

  5. 5

    To bring the muzzle or mouth near.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Muzzle in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchmuseau (part of animal's head), muselière (device to stop an animal from biting), museler (to apply a muzzle)
GermanSchnauze, Nüster (part of animal's head), Maulkorb (device to stop an animal from biting), Mündung (open end of a gun), jemandem einen Maulkorb verpassen (to restrain from speaking or acting)
Portuguesefocinho (part of animal's head), focinheira, açaime, açaimo (device to stop an animal from biting), amordaçar (to apply a muzzle), cano (open end of a gun)
Spanishhocico (part of animal's head), bozal (device to stop an animal from biting), amordazar (to apply a muzzle), boca (open end of a gun), censurar, atar (to restrain from speaking or acting)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does muzzle come from?

From earlier muzle, musle, mousle, mussel, mozell, from Middle English mosel, from Old French musel, museau, muzeau (modern French museau), from Late Latin mūsus (“snout”), probably expressive of the shape of protruded lips and/or influenced by Latin mūgīre (“to moo, bellow”). Doublet of museau. Displaced native Middle English kevel from Old English cæfl (“gag, bit, muzzle”), see English cavel.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

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