As a noun, the word '''MUD''' is variously written MUD, Mud, and mud, depending on speaker and context. It is also used as a verb, with '''to mud''' meaning to play or interact with a MUD and '''mudding''' referring to the act of doing so.{{R|hahn-verb}} A '''mudder''' is, naturally, one who MUDs.{{R|internetculture-mudder}} [[Compound (linguistics)|Compound words]] and [[Portmanteau word|portmanteaux]] such as '''mudlist''', '''[[Cybersex|mudsex]]''', and '''[[mudflation]]'''<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Chester |first1=Chris |title=Curing mudflation before it starts |work=[[Engadget]] |date=2008-05-05 |url=https://www.engadget.com/2008/05/05/curing-mudflation-before-it-starts/ |language=en |access-date=2019-11-27 |df=mdy-all |archive-date=November 27, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191127230026/https://www.engadget.com/2008/05/05/curing-mudflation-before-it-starts/ |url-status=live }}</ref> are also regularly coined. [[Pun]]s on the "wet dirt" meaning of "mud" are endemic, as with, for example, the names of the [[ROM (MUD)|ROM]] ('''R'''ivers '''o'''f '''M'''UD), [[TinyMUCK|MUCK]], [[MUSH]], and [[CoffeeMUD]] codebases and the MUD ''Muddy Waters''.
