mutt

noun

1
: a stupid or insignificant person : fool
2
: a mongrel dog : cur

Did you know?

Mutt can now be used with either affection or disdain to refer to a dog that is not purebred, but in the word's early history, in the U.S. around the turn of the 20th century, it could also be used to describe a person—and not kindly: mutt was another word for "fool." The word's history lies in another insult. It comes from muttonhead, another Americanism that also means essentially "fool." Muttonhead had been around since the early 19th century but it was not unlike an older insult with the same meaning: people had been calling one another "sheep's heads" since the mid-16th century.

Examples of mutt in a Sentence

it's an expensive camera, and I'd rather not turn it over to some mutt
Recent Examples on the Web As a result, shelters are teeming not only with the kinds of dogs that people might imagine, like large-breed mutts and pit bulls; but also huskies, French bulldogs and designer dogs. Marc Ramirez, USA TODAY, 20 Feb. 2024 Such crosses between different pure breeds may outlive the run-of-the-mill mutt and potentially even purebreds. Jack Tamisiea, Scientific American, 2 Feb. 2024 Another mutt, his future in-law Arya, was ring-bearer. Rick Montgomery, Kansas City Star, 30 Jan. 2024 The motley crew of mutts include the scruffy border terrier Reggie (Ferrell), Boston terrier Bug (Foxx), Australian shepherd Maggie (Fisher), and Great Dane Hunter (Park). Devan Coggan, EW.com, 15 Aug. 2023 One of them was Blue, an 11-month-old mutt with white socks and pointy ears. Alene Tchekmedyian, Los Angeles Times, 3 Dec. 2023 As Esau Kingsland walked near the north end of the lake, his dog, Teddy — a year-old rescue mutt, part Old English sheepdog, with fluffy gray and white fur — jerked his leash, lunging and barking at a goose near the water’s edge. Hailey Branson-Potts, Los Angeles Times, 22 Sep. 2023 In the study, a team from the University of Veterinary Medicine in Vienna, Austria used nine timber wolves and eight mongrel or mutt dogs living at the Wolf Science Center in Ernstbrunn, Austria. Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 13 Sep. 2023 An abused stray mutt kept trying to move himself into a senior care facility. John Carlisle, USA TODAY, 1 Sep. 2023

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

Word History

Etymology

short for muttonhead dull-witted person

First Known Use

1899, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of mutt was in 1899

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Dictionary Entries Near mutt

Cite this Entry

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

Kids Definition

mutt

noun
: a mongrel dog : cur

More from Merriam-Webster on mutt

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