mutton
gb/mˈʌtən/ us/mˈʌtən/
B2
English
~ 8200
Senses
0 senses
Noun
B2
entity
1
meat from an adult sheep
Meat that comes from an adult sheep, usually eaten in stews, curries, or roasts.
Usage pattern:
to eat [mutton] for [a meal]
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes think "mutton" and "lamb" are the same. Both are meat from sheep, but lamb is from a young sheep and is usually more tender and mild. Another mistake is using it as a countable noun (*"two muttons"*); in standard usage, "mutton" is an uncountable food word, so you say "some mutton" or "a piece of mutton".
Synonyms
sheep meat (More descriptive than standard; clearly explains what mutton is but is not a fixed food term.)
|
lamb (Very close in meaning, but usually meat from a younger sheep and considered more tender and mild in flavor.)
Antonyms
vegetables (Contrasts with mutton as a non-meat food, often mentioned when talking about meat versus plant-based dishes.)
Collocations
roast mutton
|mutton curry
|mutton stew
|leg of mutton
|mutton chops
|mutton biryani
Themes
food
|cooking
|animals
|food_drink
|daily_life
|core_vocabulary
Examples
- The restaurant serves a rich mutton curry with fresh naan.
- We had roast mutton and potatoes for Sunday lunch.
- In this region, people prefer mutton to beef because it has a stronger flavor.
- He bought a leg of mutton to cook for the family gathering.
- The stew was made with cheap cuts of mutton and root vegetables.
Learner examples
- My grandmother cooked mutton with rice for dinner.
- They sell fresh mutton every morning at the market.
- I do not eat mutton because the taste is too strong for me.
Grammar
Expressions
mutton chops
1/mˈʌtən t͡ʃˈɑps/
fixed phrase
sideburns like meat chops
Thick sideburns that grow down the sides of the face and connect or almost connect to a moustache, looking like the shape of meat chops.
Examples
- The 19th‑century politician was famous for his huge mutton chops.
- He shaved off his beard but kept the mutton chops for a more dramatic look.
- The actor grew mutton chops for his role in the historical drama.
tough as mutton
1/tˈʌf ˈæz mˈʌtən/
idiom
informal
extremely tough and hard to chew
Very hard to chew, usually used to complain that meat or food is too tough.
Examples
- The steak was tough as mutton, and nobody could finish it.
- If you overcook it, the meat will be tough as mutton.
- The old bread was tough as mutton and impossible to bite.
mutton dressed as lamb
1/mˈʌtən dɹˈɛst ˈæz lˈæm/
idiom
informal
older woman dressed too youthfully
Used to describe an older person, usually a woman, who wears clothes that look suitable for a much younger person.
Examples
- She said the bright pink mini dress made her feel like mutton dressed as lamb.
- The tabloids cruelly described the celebrity as mutton dressed as lamb after the awards show.
- Some critics complained that the actress looked like mutton dressed as lamb on the red carpet.
- She worries about looking like mutton dressed as lamb if she wears that short skirt.
- He doesn’t want to look like mutton dressed as lamb, so he chooses simple, classic clothes.
- Some people call older women in teenage fashion "mutton dressed as lamb," but the phrase can sound rude.