moldier; moldiest
1
: of, resembling, or covered with mold
2
a
: being old and moldering : crumbling
b
: antiquated, fusty
moldy tradition
moldiness noun

Examples of moldy in a Sentence

Her books became moldy after being left in a damp basement. The wine had a slightly moldy aroma.
Recent Examples on the Web Even just running fans could spread mold spores throughout your home, as could removing moldy materials. 2. Connor Sheets, Los Angeles Times, 10 Feb. 2024 But hours of digging yielded little: coats the boys had outgrown, a crumpled bicycle, a broken bed and Erdem’s backpack and wallet, moldy from the rain. Safak Timur Emin Ozmen, New York Times, 4 Feb. 2024 The restaurant was also dinged after inspectors found a moldy head of lettuce inside a walk-in cooler, according to county documents. Evan Moore, Charlotte Observer, 29 Jan. 2024 As much as 4% to 6% of beans by count are also allowed to be insect-infested or moldy. Cnn.com Wire Service, The Mercury News, 29 Jan. 2024 Sessions deteriorated and went missing over time, private pressings of LPs went into personal collections and never reappeared, and entire label catalogs were lost to moldy basements and unsentimental relatives. Marah Eakin, WIRED, 7 Jan. 2024 Experts say that eating around a slice (or section) of moldy bread could put you in danger of becoming sick—even if the rest of the bread appears to be fine. Brittany Leitner, Better Homes & Gardens, 31 Dec. 2023 If the cantaloupe become moldy or damaged, the bacteria can move from the outside of the rind to the inner layer or into the flesh. Jonel Aleccia, Fortune, 19 Dec. 2023 Hearing classic music from decades ago performed in concert today should be more than an exercise in moldy nostalgia and reduced expectations. George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 Dec. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'moldy.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of moldy was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near moldy

Cite this Entry

“Moldy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/moldy. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

moldy

adjective
moldier; moldiest
: resembling, containing, or covered with mold
moldiness noun

Medical Definition

moldy

adjective
variants or chiefly British mouldy
moldier or chiefly British mouldier; mouldiest
: covered with a mold-producing fungus
moldy bread

More from Merriam-Webster on moldy

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