mill

[ mil ]

/ mɪl /

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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.

OTHER WORDS FOR mill

15 crowd, swarm, throng; roam, wander.

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Idioms about mill

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

First recorded before 950; Middle English noun miln(e), mille(n) “building for grinding grain,” Old English myl(e)n “(water) mill,” from Late Latin molīna, noun use of feminine of molīnus “of a mill,” equivalent to Latin mol(a) “mill” + -īnus -ine¹

Other definitions for mill (2 of 4)

mill²

[ mil ]

/ mɪl /

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

An Americanism dating back to 1780–90; short for Latin millēsimus “thousandth”; see also mil¹

Other definitions for mill (3 of 4)

Mill

[ mil ]

/ mɪl /

noun

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

his son, John Stuart, 1806–73, English philosopher and economist.

Other definitions for mill (4 of 4)

mill.

abbreviation

million.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use mill in a sentence

The “doctorate” Duke claims is from an anti-Semitic Ukranian “diploma mill” as described by the State Department.
The Price of Steve Scalise’s Silence|Jason Berry|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The language school did not focus on providing instruction but instead was a visa mill.
ISIS, Boko Haram, and the Growing Role of Human Trafficking in 21st Century Terrorism|Louise I. Shelley|December 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Not even Radio Bemba (Cuban slang for the rumor mill) had picked up the signal.
The Life and Hard Times Of The Family A Cuban Defector Left Behind|Brin-Jonathan Butler|December 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST

Kids ranging from 17 down to elementary-school age mill about, waiting to be called by the court.
The Border Kid Crisis Hits the Courts|Caitlin Dickson|September 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But men we had known and trails we had followed furnished us plenty of grist for the conversational mill.
Raw Gold|Bertrand W. Sinclair
Sounds rotten, but that's their style; and you've been through the mill at home enough to know what it is to be knifed socially.
Raw Gold|Bertrand W. Sinclair
Along in the afternoon Porter's force was located near Moore's Mill, about four miles distant.
The Courier of the Ozarks|Byron A. Dunn
The first steam rolling mill, with the exception of the one at Soho, was put up at Bradley ironworks.
Showell's Dictionary of Birmingham|Thomas T. Harman and Walter Showell
They heard how in the early spring in the meadow by the mill-dam Tim and I had stopped our ploughs to draw lots and he had lost.
The Soldier of the Valley|Nelson Lloyd

British Dictionary definitions for mill (1 of 3)

mill¹

/ (mɪl) /

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 forms of mill

millable, adjective

Word Origin for mill

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

British Dictionary definitions for mill (2 of 3)

mill²

/ (mɪl) /

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)

British Dictionary definitions for mill (3 of 3)

Mill

/ (mɪl) /

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

Other 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.

mill

OTHER WORDS FOR mill

Idioms about mill

Origin of mill

Other definitions for mill (2 of 4)

Origin of mill

Other definitions for mill (3 of 4)

Other definitions for mill (4 of 4)

Words related to mill

How to use mill in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for mill (1 of 3)

Derived forms of mill

Word Origin for mill

British Dictionary definitions for mill (2 of 3)

Word Origin for mill

British Dictionary definitions for mill (3 of 3)

Other Idioms and Phrases with mill