mustymust‧y /ˈmʌsti/ adjective 
Word Origin
the musty smell of old books
Word OriginWORD ORIGINmusty
ExamplesOrigin:
1500-1600 Perhaps from moisty ‘wet’ (15-19 centuries), from moist; influenced by ➔ MUST2 (2)EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
Thesaurus- a musty motel room
- The furniture smelled musty and old.
- The hotel room was dark and musty.
- The library was full of musty old books which no one wanted to read.
- A dark hall, musty with age.
- In the thick, musty air of the dungeon I felt a creeping graveyard chill.
- It has 10 floors, with elevators, and a musty, professional ambience.
- Stepping through the door we entered into a musty Mary Celeste type atmosphere.
- The company was demoralized and faintly musty.
- The high velvet shoulder of his doublet smelt musty as though it had been lying in a trunk for centuries.
- The law can seem a distant, musty reality, no matter how shocking the changes it effects in national custom.
- There were many conflicting smells -- musty scents suggestive of faded perfumes, herbal teas, and an aging woman.
Longman Language Activatorto have a bad smell► smelly
Collocations · The hut was dark and smelly.· Don't leave your smelly sneakers lying around the living room.· The lake was rapidly turning brown and smelly from the factory wastes.
► smell to have an unpleasant smell: · Does my breath smell?· We need to clean the cat's litter box - it's starting to smell.smell bad/awful/terrible/disgusting: · Not only does he smell bad - he's mean and ugly too.· Many people like the taste of jackfruit, but it smells terrible.
► stink to have a strong and unpleasant smell: · Her room is filthy, and it stinks.· How can you eat that cheese? It stinks.stink of: · His clothes stank of cigarette smoke.stink to high heaven: · You boys stink to high heaven - go inside and take a shower.
► reek to have a very strong smell of something unpleasant: · Get that dog out of here - he reeks.reek of: · He came running into the house, reeking of sweat.· The tiny office reeked of onions and cigarette smoke.· Where have you been - you reek of alcohol?
► stinking having a very strong unpleasant smell: · The yards were full of stinking garbage cans, and untidy lines of washing.· He pointed to the stinking hole that we were to use as a toilet.
► stink the place out British /stink the place up American informal to make a whole room smell bad: · You're not bringing that cat in here - it'll stink the place out.· She made fish for dinner and stunk the place up.
► musty things such as books, clothes, or rooms that are musty have a smell that is old and not fresh, especially because they have not been used or been in fresh air for a long time: · The hotel room was dark and musty.· The library was full of musty old books which no one wanted to read.
► stale having a smell that is not fresh, especially because you can still smell something such as old cigarette smoke or old cooking smells: · She noticed the stale smell of drink on his breath.· The air in the office was stale and heavy.· It was cold outside and the smell of stale tobacco clung to their winter coats.
► acrid having a sharp, unpleasant smell, especially one that hurts your nose: · The chemical has an acrid smell.· When I opened the door, acrid white smoke came billowing out.· The air was stale and acrid, and a cluster of black flies hovered over the bed.
WORD SETS► Odoursair freshener, nounbittersweet, adjectivebody odour, nounbody spray, nounbouquet, nounfetid, adjectivefoul, adjectivefragrance, nounfragrant, adjectivefrankincense, nounfunk, nounheavy, adjectiveincense, nounminty, adjectivemusk, nounmusty, adjectiveodoriferous, adjectiveodorous, adjectiveodour, nounodourless, adjectiveolfactory, adjectiveperfume, nounperfume, verbredolent, adjectivereek, verbrich, adjectivesavour, nounscent, nounsweet, adjectivewhiff, noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES► a musty/stale/sour smell
a musty room, house, or object has an unpleasant smell, because it is old and has not had any fresh air for a long time: (=old and not fresh)· The clothes in the wardrobe had a damp musty smell.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSNOUN► smell· This, and the musty smell of books, was its chief attraction for Richard.· There was a musty smell and a deep silence.· It was cold inside but the friar was pleased that it had lost its musty smell.· It was a damp musty smell.· It was very hot in the room already and there was a musty smell.· No footmarks disturbed the dust, cobwebs hung like festoons and a strange musty smell pervaded the atmosphere.· It wasn't locked and a musty smell floated into the passage.
the musty smell of old books