Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- adjective Stale or moldy in odor or taste.
- adjective Hackneyed or trite; dull.
- adjective Out of date; antiquated.
- adjective Out of use or practice; rusty.
from The Century Dictionary.
- Moldy; sour: as, a musty cask; musty corn or straw; musty books.
- Having an ill flavor; vapid: as, musty wine.
- Dull; heavy; spiritless; moping; stale.
- noun Snuff having a musty flavor.
- To become musty.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- adjective Having the rank, pungent, offensive odor and taste which substances of organic origin acquire during warm, moist weather; foul or sour and fetid; moldy
- adjective Spoiled by age; rank; stale.
- adjective Dull; heavy; spiritless.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adjective Having a
stale odor .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- adjective stale and unclean smelling
- adjective covered with or smelling of mold
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
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Examples
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In high school I'd skip lunch and spend the money in musty bookstores on Jackson Blvd., their names long forgotten.
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In high school I'd skip lunch and spend the money in musty bookstores on Jackson Blvd., their names long forgotten.
Archive 2008-04-01 2008
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The two boys stared down at the black rectangle on the table, breathing in musty basement air.
365 tomorrows » Static Cling : A New Free Flash Fiction SciFi Story Every Day 2005
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The two boys stared down at the black rectangle on the table, breathing in musty basement air.
365 tomorrows » 2005 » November : A New Free Flash Fiction SciFi Story Every Day 2005
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Musty documents filed away in musty drawers, and old, old letters and deeds-of-law with crumbling edges, referred to it casually.
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I was surprised at the number, who, in musty law offices, heard the call of adventure; and I was more than surprised by the number of elderly and retired sea captains who were still thralls to the sea.
Chapter 3 1913
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I was surprised at the number, who, in musty law offices, heard the call of adventure; and I was more than surprised by the number of elderly and retired sea captains who were still thralls to the sea.
Chapter 3 1911
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During the burial service over her husband, while she had sat bowed in musty black cotton, which had been loaned her by a neighbour, she had vowed earnestly that she would wear weeds yet for Abner before she died.
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If it be in corn or other eatables, as his was who had his barns full (Luke xii. 16, 17), rust (so we read it) corrupts that: Brosis -- eating, eating by men, for as goods are increased they are increased that eat them (Eccl.v. 11); eating by mice or other vermin; manna itself bred worms; or it grows mouldy and musty, is struck, or smutted, or blasted; fruits soon rot.
Commentary on the Whole Bible Volume V (Matthew to John) 1721
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It says the sticker smells "musty," but it seems the second-runner-up smell was coffee.
Today's Book Review 2010
dailyword commented on the word musty
Watson used this word when he was talking about the paper that Rene had sent to Simza.
July 1, 2012