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mus·ket noun [ORIGIN: MF mousquet, fr. It moschetto small artillery piece, kind of small hawk, fr. dim. of mosca fly, fr. L musca]

: a heavy large-caliber muzzle-loading shoulder firearm

— mus·ke·teer noun

mus·ket·ry noun 1 : MUSKETS

2 : MUSKETEERS

3 : musket fire

musk·mel·on noun : a small round to oval melon that has usu. a sweet edible green or orange flesh and a musky odor

musk ox noun : a heavyset shaggy-coated wild ox of Greenland and the arctic tundra of northern No. America

musk·rat noun, plural muskrat or muskrats : a large No. American aquatic rodent with webbed feet and dark brown fur; also : its fur

Mus·lim noun : an adherent of Islam

— Muslim adjective

mus·lin noun : a plain-woven sheer to coarse cotton fabric

1muss noun : a state of disorder

2muss verb : to make untidy : DISARRANGE

mus·sel noun 1 : a dark edible saltwater bivalve mollusk

2 : any of various freshwater bivalve mollusks of the central U.S. having shells with a pearly lining

mussy adjective : characterized by clutter or muss

— muss·i·ly adverb

— muss·i·ness noun

1must verb — used as an auxiliary esp. to express a command, requirement, obligation, or necessity

Synonyms

have, need, ought, shall, should—more at NEED

2must noun 1 : an imperative duty

2 : an indispensable item

Synonyms

[1, 2] condition, demand, essential, necessity, need, requirement, requisite—more at ESSENTIAL

mus·tache noun : the hair growing on the human upper lip

— mus·tached adjective

mus·tang noun [ORIGIN: MexSp mestengo, fr. Sp, stray, fr. mesteño strayed, fr. mesta annual roundup of cattle that disposed of strays, fr. ML (animalia) mixta mixed animals]

: a small hardy naturalized horse of the western plains of America; also : BRONC

mus·tard noun 1 : a pungent yellow powder of the seeds of an herb related to the cabbage and used as a condiment or in medicine

2 : a plant that yields mustard; also : a closely related plant

— mustardy adjective

mustard gas noun : a poison gas used in warfare that has violent irritating and blistering effects

1muster noun 1 a : an act of assembling (as for military inspection)

b : critical examination

2 : an assembled group

Synonyms

[1a] mobilization, rally—more at RALLY

[2] assemblage, assembly, conference, congregation, convocation, gathering, meeting—more at GATHERING

2muster verb [ORIGIN: ME mustren to show, muster, fr. AF mustrer, monstrer, fr. L monstrare to show, fr. monstrum evil omen, monster]

1 a : to gather or cause to gather

b : to call the roll of

2 : ACCUMULATE

3 : to call forth : ROUSE

4 : to amount to : COMPRISE

Synonyms

marshal, mobilize, rally—more at MOBILIZE

assemble, call, convene, convoke, summon—more at CONVOKE

muster out verb : to discharge from military service

musty adjective mus·ti·er; -est 1 : impaired by damp or mildew : MOLDY

2 : tasting or smelling of damp or decay

3 : tedious from familiarity : STALE

— must·i·ly adverb

— must·i·ness noun

Synonyms

[2] fetid, foul, fusty, malodorous, noisome, rank, reeky, smelly, strong—more at MALODOROUS

[3] banal, commonplace, hackneyed, stale, stereotyped, threadbare, tired, trite—more at STALE

mu·ta·ble adjective 1 : prone to change : FICKLE

2 : capable of or liable to mutation : VARIABLE

— mu·ta·bil·i·ty noun

Synonyms

capricious, changeable, fickle, fluid, inconstant, mercurial, temperamental, uncertain, unpredictable, unsettled, unstable, unsteady, variable, volatile—more at FICKLE

mu·tant adjective : of, relating to, or produced by mutation

— mu·tant noun

mu·tate verb mu·tat·ed; mu·tat·ing : to undergo or cause to undergo mutation

— mu·ta·tive adjective

Synonyms

change, fluctuate, shift, vary—more at CHANGE

mu·ta·tion noun 1 : CHANGE

2 : an inherited physical or biochemical change in genetic material; also : the process of producing a mutation

3 : an individual, strain, or trait resulting from mutation

— mu·ta·tion·al adjective

1mute adjective