1. Turn off sound output, or make much quieter; switch off signal from a microphone
   "please mute during the meeting unless you are speaking"
    
2. Deaden (a sound or noise), especially by wrapping
   "He muted the strings of his guitar with a cloth";
   - muffle, dull, damp, dampen, tone down

1. Expressed without speech
   "a mute appeal";
   - tongueless, unspoken, wordless, silent
    
2. Unable to speak because of hereditary deafness
   "The mute child learned to communicate through sign language";
   - dumb, silent

1. A device used to soften the tone of a musical instrument
   "The trumpeter used a mute to achieve a more mellow sound"
    
2. A person who does not speak, whether by choice or due to a physical condition
   "The character in the film was a mute who communicated through writing"

Derived forms: mutest, muting, muted, muter, mutes

See also: inarticulate, unarticulate

Type of: acoustic device, soften

Antonym: unmute

Encyclopedia: Mute