Meaning & use
muzzle
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Meanings
nouncountable
The front part of an animal's head, including the nose and mouth, which sticks out from the face, as on a dog or horse.
Grammar: A countable noun: the dog's muzzle, a horse's muzzles. It describes animals, not people.
Patterns
- the muzzle of an animal
- a dog's muzzle
The horse pushed its soft muzzle into my hand, looking for a treat.
The old dog's muzzle had turned white with age.
Snow clung to the deer's muzzle as it grazed.
nouncountable
A strap or cage fitted around an animal's mouth to stop it from biting or eating.
Grammar: Often used with on or in: a dog wearing a muzzle. Use put a muzzle on to say you fit it.
Patterns
- put a muzzle on something
- wear a muzzle
The law requires that certain dogs wear a muzzle in public.
The vet slipped a muzzle on the frightened dog before examining its leg.
She trained her dog to accept the muzzle calmly.
nouncountable
The open end of a gun barrel from which the bullet comes out.
Grammar: Often followed by of or used in the fixed phrases muzzle flash and muzzle velocity.
Patterns
- the muzzle of a gun
- muzzle velocity
The officer never pointed the muzzle of his rifle at anyone on the range.
A bright muzzle flash lit the dark field for a second.
verbtransitivefigurative
To stop someone from speaking or expressing views freely, or to put a restraining device on an animal's mouth.
Grammar: Takes an object: muzzle the press or muzzle the dog. The figurative use is common in news writing.
Patterns
- muzzle someone
- muzzle the press
- muzzle a dog
Critics said the new law was meant to muzzle the press.
The owner had to muzzle her dog after it bit a neighbor.
Employees felt muzzled by a contract that banned them from speaking publicly.
Word forms
| plural | muzzles |
|---|---|
| third person singular | muzzles |
| past tense | muzzled |
| past participle | muzzled |
| -ing form | muzzling |
Common combinations
- muzzle the press
- The government was accused of trying to muzzle the press before the election.
- wear a muzzle
- Dogs of that breed must wear a muzzle in public places.
- muzzle flash
- The muzzle flash was visible from across the valley.
- muzzle velocity
- A rifle's muzzle velocity affects how far the bullet travels.
- muzzled by
- The scientist said she felt muzzled by the funding agency.
Synonyms and how they differ
- snout
- Snout is the protruding nose and mouth of an animal such as a pig, and sounds less delicate than muzzle used for dogs and horses.
- silence
- Silence is a general word for making someone stop speaking, while muzzle suggests forcible restriction by an authority.
- gag
- Gag in the figurative sense suggests an official order forbidding discussion, and muzzle is similar but slightly more general.
- censor
- Censor means to remove or ban specific content, whereas muzzle prevents a person from speaking at all.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: muzzle or nozzle?
muzzle vs nozzle
A nozzle is the narrow spout at the end of a hose or pipe, while a muzzle is the mouth part of an animal or the end of a gun barrel.
Practice
Which sentence uses muzzle in its figurative sense?
Choose one answer.
To muzzle protesters means to stop them from speaking freely, which is figurative. The other sentences use the literal animal part, the restraining device or the gun end.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “muzzle”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.