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# muddle

«muddle» in Mova's school dictionary: **an untidy mess, or a state of confusion: «My drawer is in…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

noun (a muddle, muddles); verb (muddle, muddles, muddled, muddling); adjective muddled

### meaning for a pupil

1) A muddle is an untidy mess, or a state of confusion: «My drawer is in a muddle». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/muddle/#m1)

2) To muddle things means to mix them up or put them in the wrong order. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/muddle/#m2)

3) To be muddled or get in a muddle means to feel confused or make mistakes because you cannot think clearly. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/muddle/#m3)

4) (UK) To muddle through means to manage somehow, without a good plan. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/muddle/#m4)

### sense in the lessons

In everyday life it describes untidy rooms and mixed-up facts; in maths lessons pupils get «in a muddle» with steps. Phrases: «in a muddle», «muddle up», «muddle through», «get muddled».

### examples

- My socks are in a muddle. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/muddle/#x1)
- I always muddle up «their» and «there». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/muddle/#x2)
- Grandpa gets muddled when he's tired. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/muddle/#x3)
- Don't muddle the numbers in your answer. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/muddle/#x4)
- We had no map but muddled through. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/muddle/#x5)
- The twins are easy to muddle. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/muddle/#x6)
- The instructions were a total muddle. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/muddle/#x7)
- Slow down so you don't get in a muddle with the sums. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/muddle/#x8)

### note

Regular verb: muddled, muddling (drop the e). «Muddle» is softer and gentler than «mess». It is common in British English.

### In the corpora

- [Apostrophes cause the worst muddles.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/english/11-homophones-and-near-homophones/8/)
- [The street was just as muddled.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/381-girls-who-fight-and-double-standards/3/)
- [The girls got muddled rules too.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/391-just-hit-him-back-or-tell-a-teacher/8/)
- [Names can get muddled.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/523-kinship-care-living-with-gran-or-an-aunt/17/)
- [As the anaesthetic wears off, children may feel sleepy, sick or muddled, and recovery nurses give medicine for sickness or pain.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/medicine/28-the-hospital-ward-operations-and-anaesthetic/9/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «muddle» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/muddle/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.