noun ·Moderate ·High school level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   A slippery secretion from the lining of the mucous membranes. uncountable, usually

   "The mucus in coryza may vary from runny to viscous."

2. 2
   protective secretion of the mucous membranes; in the gut it lubricates the passage of food and protects the epithelial cells; in the nose and throat and lungs it can make it difficult for bacteria to penetrate the body through the epithelium wordnet
3. 3
   Short for vegetable mucus abbreviation, alt-of, uncountable, usually

Synonyms

All synonyms

albumenantifrictionautacoidbatterbileblack lead

Example

More examples

"I have mucus coming out of my eyes."

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin mūcus. Partly displaced Old English slīm, whence modern slime.

Related phrases

mucus fishing syndromebodily fluidbody fluidbody liquidfrom nosegreen slimyin lungsin nosemucous membranenasal passagenose moisturescum anagram

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.