- 1[countable, usually singular] a state of mental confusion Can you start from the beginning again—I'm in a muddle. Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectiveawful, embarrassing, bureaucratic, … verb + muddleget (somebody) in, get (somebody) into, make, … prepositionin a muddle, muddle about, muddle over, … See full entry
- 2[countable, usually singular, uncountable] muddle (about/over something) a situation in which there is confusion about arrangements, etc. and things are done wrong There was a muddle over the theatre tickets. There followed a long period of confusion and muddle. Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectiveawful, embarrassing, bureaucratic, … verb + muddleget (somebody) in, get (somebody) into, make, … prepositionin a muddle, muddle about, muddle over, … See full entry
- 3[countable, usually singular, uncountable] a state of confusion in which things are untidy synonym mess My papers are all in a muddle. Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectiveawful, embarrassing, bureaucratic, … verb + muddleget (somebody) in, get (somebody) into, make, … prepositionin a muddle, muddle about, muddle over, … See full entry Word Originlate Middle English (in the sense ‘wallow in mud’): perhaps from Middle Dutch moddelen, frequentative of modden ‘dabble in mud’; compare with mud. The sense ‘confuse’ was initially associated with alcoholic drink (late 17th cent.), giving rise to ‘busy oneself in a confused way’ and ‘jumble up’ (mid 19th cent.).Extra examples The house was in a awful muddle by the time the children left. The judge made a muddle of the case. There was a bureaucratic muddle over his appointment. Don’t just throw your tools into the shed in a muddle. He picked up a dirty glass, part of the muddle on the mantelpiece. My desk was the usual muddle of books, files and papers. My papers are all in a muddle.
muddle
nounBrE BrE//ˈmʌdl//; NAmE NAmE//ˈmʌdl//
(especially British English)Check pronunciation: muddle
