Is it possible to mute a separate audio segment on a track instead of muting the entire track?
If you want to permanently mute a section, you can just select it, then “Ctrl + L” (Silence Audio).
(see: https://manual.audacityteam.org/man/edit_menu_remove_special.html)
Or you could select the selection and use Edit > Clip Boundaries > Split New
This would then move the selection to a new track thereby enabling you to mute that independently of the donor track.
Peter.