mute: Meaning and Definition of

mute

Pronunciation: (myt), [key]
— adj., n., v., mut•er, mut•est, mut•ed, mut•ing.
—adj.
  1. silent; refraining from speech or utterance.
  2. not emitting or having sound of any kind.
  3. incapable of speech; dumb.
  4. (of letters) silent; not pronounced.
  5. (of a person who has been arraigned) making no plea or giving an irrelevant response when arraigned, or refusing to stand trial (used chiefly in the phrase to stand mute).
  6. (of a hound) hunting a line without giving tongue or cry.
—n.
  1. a person incapable of speech.
  2. an actor whose part is confined to dumb show.
  3. a person who stands mute when arraigned.
  4. Also calleda mechanical device of various shapes and materials for muffling the tone of a musical instrument.
  5. a stop.
  6. a hired mourner at a funeral; a professional mourner.
—v.t.
  1. to deaden or muffle the sound of.
  2. to reduce the intensity of (a color) by the addition of another color.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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