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# mute

«mute» in Mova's school dictionary: **To mute a sound, phone, TV or video call is to turn its…** — 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

adjective (mute); verb (mute, mutes, muted, muting); noun (a mute, mutes)

### meaning for a pupil

1) To mute a sound, phone, TV or video call is to turn its sound off so nothing can be heard; the mute button does this. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mute/#m1)

2) Mute means silent, not speaking: she stayed mute. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mute/#m2)

3) Muted colours or sounds are soft, quiet or not bright. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mute/#m3)

4) A mute on a musical instrument, like a trumpet or violin, is something that makes its sound quieter or different. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mute/#m4)

5) (old-fashioned, now offensive) Mute was once used for a person who cannot speak; today we say «non-speaking» or «a person who does not speak». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mute/#m5)

### sense in the lessons

In everyday life and online classes «mute» is very common: «You're on mute!», «Please mute your microphone.» In stories a character may be «struck mute» with surprise. In music lessons a trumpet mute changes the sound. Phrases: on mute, mute button, mute yourself, mute the TV, muted colours, a mute swan.

### examples

- Please mute your microphone when the teacher is talking. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mute/#x1)
- Dad, you're still on mute! [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mute/#x2)
- She muted the TV during the adverts. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mute/#x3)
- He stood mute with shock. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mute/#x4)
- The room was painted in muted greens and greys. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mute/#x5)
- The trumpet player put a mute in his trumpet. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mute/#x6)
- A mute swan is a white swan with an orange beak. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mute/#x7)
- You can mute a group chat if it gets too noisy. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mute/#x8)
- But Night stood still and mute. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mute/#x9)

### note

Verb forms: mute, mutes, muted, muting. «On mute» = sound off; «unmute» = turn sound back on. In spelling, a «silent letter» is sometimes called a mute letter (the k in «knee»). Be kind: calling a person «mute» can be hurtful; say they do not speak or use sign language. A mute swan is not silent; it can hiss and snort.

### In the corpora

- [Most consoles and games let you mute your microphone and let parents limit voice chat to friends.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/405-teams-and-voice-chat/23/)
- [Then he remembered his dad's four words: mute, block, report, tell.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/406-toxic-players-and-swearing/3/)
- [He muted the man (the silence was wonderful), blocked him, and his dad showed him the report button.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/406-toxic-players-and-swearing/4/)
- [Ruby heard grown-up strangers swearing on voice chat and muted all voice chat in the settings.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/406-toxic-players-and-swearing/23/)
- [Mute, block, report and tell a grown-up are the four tools against a nasty player.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/406-toxic-players-and-swearing/26/)

### Trees and pragmatics

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