What does mute mean?
Mute is a versatile word used primarily as an adjective and verb. As an adjective, it describes a person who is unable or unwilling to speak, or something that produces no audible sound. As a verb, it refers to switching off a microphone, silencing a notification, reducing the volume of an instrument, or figuratively suppressing communication and public attention. The related noun has two established but very different uses. It can mean a device fitted to an instrument to soften or alter its tone, and it historically denoted a person unable to speak, though that use is now outdated and can be regarded as offensive. In modern English, mute is especially associated with controls that silence sound and with figurative descriptions of communication being deliberately suppressed. Its compact form makes it useful in both everyday conversation and technical settings, while its historical noun sense preserves an important change in social and medical vocabulary.
Unable or unwilling to speak; making little or no sound.
"The frightened child remained mute behind her mother."
When used for a person, mute usually emphasizes silence rather than a diagnosed condition.
To switch off, reduce, or suppress sound; figuratively, to prevent expression or attention.
"Users can mute individual notifications in the settings menu."
In figurative use, mute commonly means to suppress communication, criticism, or publicity.
A device or attachment that reduces or prevents sound, especially in a musical instrument. Historically, it also denoted a person unable to speak.
"The trumpeter attached a mute to soften the instrument’s bright tone."
The sense meaning a person unable to speak is dated and potentially offensive; the musical-device sense is current and established.
The plural is mutes, especially for individual sound-suppressing devices. The historical person sense is rarely used in modern English.
"The orchestra tested several brass mutes before the concert."
Mute is one of the few English words that can describe both a person’s silence and the switch that makes a sound disappear.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of mute
The word entered Middle English in the Middle Ages, probably through Old French muet, meaning silent or mute. Old French muet came from Latin mutus, the Latin word for silent or speechless, and that Latin root is also reflected in English mutism. The word’s later development gave rise to forms such as muted, mutely, and muteness, while mutiny and mutinous belong to a related but more indirect branch of the same Latin tradition.
Related word forms
How mute is actually used
As an adjective and verb, mute is common in both formal and informal English. The noun referring to a person unable to speak is now dated and may be considered offensive; the noun for a sound-suppressing device remains established, especially in music.
Easily confused with mute
A mule is a donkey or hybrid animal, whereas a mute is someone unable to speak or a device that suppresses sound.