a deaf person who is unable to speak
"The mute child communicated her needs through sign language instead of words."
a device used to soften the tone of a musical instrument
"He adjusted the mute on his trumpet to produce a softer, breathier sound during the quiet passage."
A stopped consonant; a stop.
"The hunter examined the mute to see if the bird had returned from its flight."
The faeces of a hawk or falcon.
In plain English: A mute is someone who cannot speak because they have lost their voice or never learned to talk.
"The game included a mute who could not speak but helped carry other players' bags."
To silence, to make quiet.
"The old eagle mute its feathers during the harsh winter months before shedding them again in spring."
Of a bird: to defecate.
To cast off; to moult.
In plain English: To mute something means to turn off its sound so you can't hear it anymore.
"The dog learned to mute its bark when strangers walked by."
expressed without speech
"a mute appeal"
"a silent curse"
"best grief is tongueless"
"the words stopped at her lips unsounded"
"unspoken grief"
"choking exasperation and wordless shame"
Not having the power of speech; dumb.
"The mute baby cooed softly but could not yet form any words."
In plain English: Mute means unable to speak or make sound.
"The mute button on my phone stopped working suddenly."
The word "mute" entered English via the Norman and French languages as a modification of an older form meaning dumb or silent. It was reshaped to resemble its Latin root mūtus, which carried the same original sense of being unable to speak.