millrace

[ mil-reys ]

/ ˈmɪlˌreɪs /

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noun

the channel in which the current of water driving a mill wheel flows to the mill.

the current itself.

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of millrace

First recorded in 1470–80; mill¹ + race¹

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

How to use millrace in a sentence

He was a profuse talker; ran a stream every time you looked at him; it was like turning on a mill-race.
Overland|John William De Forest
The whole inlet boiled like a pot, and roared like a mill-race.
Left on Labrador|Charles Asbury Stephens
Look at the chap perched out on the very end of that log, with the water rushing below like a mill-race!
The Outdoor Chums After Big Game|Captain Quincy Allen
They dragged every foot of the mill race and the creek for a long distance below the dam.
Sixes and Sevens|O. Henry

The mainland lay not more than a short stone's throwaway, but between it and the island the water ran as swift as a mill race.
The Gaunt Gray Wolf|Dillon Wallace

British Dictionary definitions for millrace

millrace

millrun

/ (ˈmɪlˌreɪs) /

noun

the current of water that turns a millwheel

the channel for this water

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