mill

[mil]

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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR mill ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a factory for certain kinds of manufacture, as paper, steel, or textiles.

a building equipped with machinery for grinding grain into flour and other cereal products.

a machine for grinding, crushing, or pulverizing any solid substance: a coffee mill.

any of various machines that modify the shape or size of a workpiece by rotating tools or the work: rolling mill.

any of various other apparatuses for shaping materials or performing other mechanical operations.

a business or institution that dispenses products or services in an impersonal or mechanical manner, as if produced in a factory: a divorce mill; a diploma mill.

Machinery. a cutter on a milling machine.

a steel roller for receiving and transferring an impressed design, as to a calico-printing cylinder or a banknote-printing plate.

Mining. a place or set of machinery for crushing or concentrating ore.

Slang. a boxing match or fistfight.

verb (used with object)

to grind, work, treat, or shape in or with a mill.

Coining.

to make a raised edge on (a coin or the like).
to make narrow, radial grooves on the raised edge of (a coin or the like).

to beat or stir, as to a froth: to mill chocolate.

Slang. to beat or strike; fight; overcome.

verb (used without object)

to move around aimlessly, slowly, or confusedly, as a herd of cattle (often followed by about or around).

Slang. to fight or box.

Idioms

through the mill, Informal. undergoing or having undergone severe difficulties, trials, etc., especially with an effect on one's health, personality, or character: He's really been through the mill since his wife's death.

Origin of mill

before 950; Middle English milne, mille (noun), Old English myl(e)n < Late Latin molīna, noun use of feminine of molīnus of a mill, equivalent to Latin mol(a) mill + -īnus -ine¹

Synonyms for mill

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR mill ON THESAURUS.COM

15. crowd, wander, roam, teem.

mill

[mil]

noun

a unit of monetary value equal to 0.001 of a U.S. dollar; one tenth of a cent: used at various times and places in the U.S. as a money of account, especially in certain tax rates.

Origin of mill

1785–95, Americanism; short for Latin millēsimus thousandth; see mil¹

Mill

[mil]

noun

James,1773–1836, English philosopher, historian, and economist, born in Scotland.

his sonJohn Stuart,1806–73, English philosopher and economist.

mill.

million.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for mill

shop, plant, foundry, works, sweatshop, manufactory, pulverize, pound, crush, grate, powder, granulate, press, comminute

Examples from the Web for mill

Contemporary Examples of mill

Did you know that you can purchase and mill 80 percent receivers without a license?
What Are We Protecting with Gun Laws?
Jessica Solce
November 13, 2014
The Mill Valley Market has grown and offers a deluxe delicatessen.
Don Carpenter Was a Novelist Both Lacerating and Forgiving
Louis B. Jones
July 14, 2014
This was the one-room studio in Mill Valley, California near The Depot.
Don Carpenter Was a Novelist Both Lacerating and Forgiving
Louis B. Jones
July 14, 2014
The result meant was that “run of the mill Paul Ryan Republicans” were just as furious with Cantor as Tea Partiers were.
How Eric Cantor Sabotaged Himself
Ben Jacobs, Tim Mak
June 11, 2014
“This is not a run of the mill criminal investigation,” he said.
#ShotsFired in U.S.-China Cyberwar
Jacob Siegel, Josh Rogin
May 20, 2014

Historical Examples of mill

While the mill was at rest he pried into its internal machinery.
Biographical Stories
Nathaniel Hawthorne
It was at the home of the Lemballeuse, the family who lived in the ruins of the mill.
The Dream
Emile Zola
She went with him to haul the grain to mill and was fascinated by the big scales.
Dust
Mr. and Mrs. Haldeman-Julius
What he gits for fixin' the mill ain't nothin' to me—I don't git a cent on it.
The Underdog
F. Hopkinson Smith
When the morning came and Jim had not returned I started for the mill.
The Underdog
F. Hopkinson Smith

British Dictionary definitions for mill

mill

noun

a building in which grain is crushed and ground to make flour

a factory, esp one which processes raw materialsa steel mill

any of various processing or manufacturing machines, esp one that grinds, presses, or rolls

any of various small hand mills used for grinding pepper, salt, or coffee for domestic purposesSee also coffee mill, pepper mill

a hard roller for impressing a design, esp in a textile-printing machine or in a machine for printing banknotes

a system, institution, etc, that influences people or things in the manner of a factorygoing through the educational mill

an unpleasant experience; ordeal (esp in the phrases go or be put through the mill)

a fist fight

run of the mill ordinary or routine

verb

(tr) to grind, press, or pulverize in or as if in a mill

(tr) to process or produce in or with a mill

to cut or roll (metal) with or as if with a milling machine

(tr) to groove or flute the edge of (a coin)

(intr; often foll by about or around) to move about in a confused manner

(usually tr) rare to beat (chocolate, etc)

archaic, slang to fight, esp with the fists

Derived Formsmillable, adjective

Word Origin for mill

Old English mylen from Late Latin molīna a mill, from Latin mola mill, millstone, from molere to grind

mill

noun

a US and Canadian monetary unit used in calculations, esp for property taxes, equal to one thousandth of a dollar

Word Origin for mill

C18: short for Latin mīllēsimum a thousandth (part)

Mill

noun

James. 1773–1836, Scottish philosopher, historian, and economist. He expounded Bentham's utilitarian philosophy in Elements of Political Economy (1821) and Analysis of the Phenomena of the Human Mind (1829) and also wrote a History of British India (1817–18)

his son, John Stuart. 1806–73, English philosopher and economist. He modified Bentham's utilitarian philosophy in Utilitarianism (1861) and in his treatise On Liberty (1859) he defended the rights and freedom of the individual. Other works include A System of Logic (1843) and Principles of Political Economy (1848)

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for mill

n.1

"building fitted to grind grain," Old English mylen "a mill" (10c.), an early Germanic borrowing from Late Latin molina, molinum "mill" (source of French moulin, Spanish molino), originally fem. and neuter of molinus "pertaining to a mill," from Latin mola "mill, millstone," related to molere "to grind," from PIE *mele-, *mel- "to crush, grind," with derivatives referring to ground material and tools for grinding (cf. Greek myle "mill;" see mallet).

Also from Late Latin molina, directly or indirectly, are German Mühle, Old Saxon mulin, Old Norse mylna, Danish mølle, Old Church Slavonic mulinu. Broader sense of "grinding machine" is attested from 1550s. Other types of manufacturing machines driven by wind or water, whether for grinding or not, began to be called mills by early 15c. Sense of "building fitted with industrial machinery" is from c.1500.

n.2

"one-tenth cent," 1786, an original U.S. currency unit but now used only for tax calculation purposes, shortening of Latin millesimum "one-thousandth," from mille "a thousand" (see million). Formed on the analogy of cent, which is short for Latin centesimus "one hundredth" (of a dollar).

v.2

"to keep moving round and round in a mass," 1874 (implied in milling), originally of cattle, from mill (n.1) on resemblance to the action of a mill wheel. Related: Milled.

v.1

"to grind," 1550s, from mill (n.1). Related: milled; milling.

Idioms and Phrases with mill

mill

see grist for the mill; mills of the gods grind slowly; run of the mill; through the mill; tilt at windmills.