Word.ws English Dictionary

muzak

Syllables: Mu·zak/ˈmjuːzæk/US/ˈmjuzæk/

muzak is the alternative letter-case form of Muzak.

Proper noun capitalized: Muzak

Muzak (uncountable)

  1. (trademark) Recorded background music characterized by soft, soothing instrumental sounds which is transmitted by wire, radio, or recorded media (originally on a subscription basis) to doctors' offices, shops, and other business premises.
    • It dawned on her that he was talking about the Muzak. It had been seeping in, in its subliminal, unidentifiable way since they'd entered the place, all strings, reeds, muted brass.1966 March, Thomas Pynchon, chapter 5, in The Crying of Lot 49, New York, N.Y.: Bantam Books, published November 1976, →ISBN, page 105
    • There's no way I can change internal body functions. Only yogis can do that. Muzak, for example, can't change you. Aaron Copeland [i.e., Aaron Copland] calls Muzak 'the obsequious.' We're super-saturated with shitty music. [Originally published in New Times.]1975 February 7, Michael Gross, quoting Tom Turicchi, “The Hits Just Keep on Coming”, in Robert Atwan, Barry Orton, William Vesterman, American Mass Media: Industries and Issues, New York, N.Y....

Noun capitalized: Muzak

Muzak (uncountable)

  1. (derogatory, often) Easy listening music, whether played live or recorded, especially if regarded as uninteresting.
    • The sound you make is muzak to my ears / You must have learned something in all those years1971 September 9, John Lennon, “How Do You Sleep?”, in Imagine
    • [T]he supermarket is very crowded, because of course it's the time of day when all other people with jobs also try to squeeze in some grocery shopping, and the store is hideously, fluorescently lit, and infused with soul-killing Muzak or corporate pop, and it's pretty much the last place you want...2005 May 21, David Foster Wallace, This is Water: Some Thoughts, Delivered on a Significant Occasion, about Living a Compassionate Life, New York, N.Y.: Little, Brown and Company, published April...
  2. (derogatory, figuratively, often) Something (such as speech) regarded as droning on and often boring, or soothing but undemanding.

Verb capitalized: Muzak

Muzak (third-person singular simple present Muzaks, present participle Muzaking, simple past and past participle Muzaked)

  1. (derogatory, often, transitive) To provide (premises, etc.) with Muzak.
  2. (derogatory, often, transitive) To adapt or reduce (a piece of music, etc.) to the status of Muzak.
    • Willington had seen disco for what it was – the great Muzaking of rock and roll via a chintzy chorus, chintzy rotating mirror balls, and chintzy Arthur Murray twirling.1984, Peter LaSalle, chapter 13, in Strange Sunlight: […], Austin, Tex.: Texas Monthly Press, →ISBN, page 115

Synonyms of muzak

Forms of muzak

Verb
third-person singular presentmuzaks
present participlemuzaking
past participlemuzaked
pastmuzaked
third-person singular presentMuzaks
present participleMuzaking
past participleMuzaked
pastMuzaked
Proper noun
alternative formmusac
alternative formmuzak

Origin of muzak

The noun is a blend of music + the letters ak from Kodak, a well-known brand in 1934 when the word was coined by the American inventor, scientist, and soldier George Owen Squier (1865–1934), who developed the original technical basis for the service. The verb is derived from the noun.

Words formed from muzak

Phrases with muzak

Questions about muzak

What does muzak mean?
Muzak means recorded background music characterized by soft, soothing instrumental sounds which is transmitted by wire, radio, or recorded media (originally on a subscription basis) to doctors' offices, shops, and other business premises.
What is muzak the alternative letter-case form of?
Muzak is the alternative letter-case form of Muzak.
What part of speech is muzak?
Muzak can be a proper noun, a noun or a verb.
How do you pronounce muzak?
Muzak is pronounced /ˈmjuːzæk/ (UK).

Words near muzak in the dictionary

  1. Muzaffarabad
  2. Muzaffarabad District
  3. Muzaffargarh
  4. Muzaffarnagar
  5. Muzaffarpur
  6. muzak
  7. muzak man
  8. muzak men
  9. muzakal
  10. muzaked
  11. muzaking

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: muzak (page history and authors); Muzak (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-muzak.wav.

Cite this entry: “muzak.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/muzak. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.