From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishmustymust‧y /ˈmʌsti/ adjective COSMELLa musty room, house, or object has an unpleasant smell, because it is old and has not had any fresh air for a long time the musty smell of old books
Examples from the Corpus
musty• The hotel room was dark and musty.• The company was demoralized and faintly musty.• In the thick, musty air of the dungeon I felt a creeping graveyard chill.• The furniture smelled musty and old.• The high velvet shoulder of his doublet smelt musty as though it had been lying in a trunk for centuries.• Stepping through the door we entered into a musty Mary Celeste type atmosphere.• a musty motel room• The library was full of musty old books which no one wanted to read.• It has 10 floors, with elevators, and a musty, professional ambience.• 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.• A dark hall, musty with age.Origin musty (1500-1600) Perhaps from moisty “wet” ((15-19 centuries)), from moist; influenced by → MUST22 