What does "muzzle" mean?
The protruding part of an animal's head which includes the nose, mouth and jaws.
Muzzle
/ˈmʌzəl/ noun, verb, slang
noun, verb, slang ·Common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: The protruding part of an animal's head which includes the nose, mouth and jaws.
- Grammar: muzzle is listed as noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: gag, acoustic tile, antiknock, antlia.
- Useful contrasts: allow, breech, breeches.
- Usage evidence: Why doesn't your dog wear a muzzle?
How to use "muzzle"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "muzzle" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "muzzle" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "muzzle" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "muzzle" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "muzzle" is acting as noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "gag" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "muzzle", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 The protruding part of an animal's head which includes the nose, mouth and jaws.
"The yellow fog that rubs its back upon the window-panes, / The yellow smoke that rubs its muzzle on the window-panes, […]"
- 2 forward projecting part of the head of certain animals; includes the jaws and nose wordnet
- 3 A person's mouth. broadly, derogatory, slang
- 4 restraint put into a person's mouth to prevent speaking or shouting wordnet
- 5 A device used to prevent an animal from biting or eating, which is worn on its snout.
Show 5 more definitions
- 6 the open circular discharging end of a gun wordnet
- 7 The mouth or the end for entrance or discharge of a gun, pistol etc., that the bullet emerges from.
- 8 a leather or wire restraint that fits over an animal's snout (especially a dog's nose and jaws) and prevents it from eating or biting wordnet
- 9 A piece of the forward end of the plow-beam by which the traces are attached. Scotland
- 10 An openwork covering for the nose, used for the defense of the horse, and forming part of the bards in the 15th and 16th centuries. historical, obsolete
Verb
- 1 To bind or confine an animal's mouth by putting a muzzle, as to prevent it from eating or biting. transitive
"Thou shalt not muzzle the ox when he treadeth out the corn."
- 2 tie a gag around someone's mouth in order to silence them wordnet
- 3 To restrain (from speaking, expressing opinion or acting); to gag; to silence; to censor. figuratively, transitive
"Those who want to muzzle everyone else are likely nothing less than pseudovirtuous."
- 4 prevent from speaking out wordnet
- 5 To veil, mask, muffle. obsolete, transitive
Show 3 more definitions
- 6 fit with a muzzle wordnet
- 7 To fondle with the closed mouth; to nuzzle. obsolete, transitive
"Venus her self would sit Muzzling and Gazing them in the Eyes"
- 8 To bring the muzzle or mouth near. intransitive
"The Bear comes directly up to him, Muzzles and Smells to him."
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"Why doesn't your dog wear a muzzle?"
Common questions
What is a synonym for "muzzle"?
Common synonyms include: gag, acoustic tile, antiknock, antlia, asphyxiate, baffler.
How do you use "muzzle" in a sentence?
Why doesn't your dog wear a muzzle?
How do you pronounce "muzzle"?
Pronounced /ˈmʌzəl/.
Etymology
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.