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• mill
  mill

  noun

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

  noun

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

  abbreviation

  million.

mill

¹ American  

[mil] / mɪl /

noun

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

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

3. a machine for grinding, crushing, or pulverizing any solid substance.

   a coffee mill.

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

   rolling mill.

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

6. 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.

7. Machinery. a cutter on a milling machine.

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

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

10. Slang. a boxing match or fistfight.

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verb (used with object)

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

2. Coining.

   1. to make a raised edge on (a coin or the like).

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

3. to beat or stir, as to a froth.

   to mill chocolate.

4. Slang. to beat or strike; fight; overcome.

verb (used without object)

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

   Synonyms:

   wander, roam, throng, swarm, crowd

2. Slang. to fight or box.

idioms

1. through the mill, 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.

mill ² American  

[mil] / mɪl /

noun

1. 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.

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Mill ³ American  

[mil] / mɪl /

noun

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

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

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mill. ⁴ American  

abbreviation

1. million.

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mill ¹ British  

/ mɪl /

noun

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

2. a factory, esp one which processes raw materials

   a steel mill

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

4. any of various small hand mills used for grinding pepper, salt, or coffee for domestic purposes See also coffee mill pepper mill

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

6. a system, institution, etc, that influences people or things in the manner of a factory

   going through the educational mill

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

8. a fist fight

9. ordinary or routine

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verb

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

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

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

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

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

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

7. archaic to fight, esp with the fists

Mill ² British  

/ mɪl /

noun

1. 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)

2. 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)

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mill ³ British  

/ mɪl /

noun

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

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mill More Idioms  

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

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Other Word Forms

• millable
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of mill¹

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 -ine ¹

Origin of mill²

An Americanism dating back to 1780–90; short for Latin millēsimus “thousandth”; see also mil ¹

Explanation

A mill is a factory or plant, especially one that's equipped for grinding grain into flour. The facility is a mill, and the machine that does the actual grinding is also called a mill. When a mill crushes and grinds grain like wheat or corn, you can say it mills flour. Other kinds of mills might mill powder or coffee — and still other mills don't actually grind anything; instead, they manufacture things like steel or paper. If someone "mills around," they wander or move about in a confused way: "The crowd mills around during the concert's intermission." This sense of mill was originally used to describe cattle.

Example Sentences

The earliest American industrial enterprises, like Slater’s Mill and the Boston Manufacturing Co., were financed by wealthy individuals or small groups.

From Barron's • Apr. 15, 2026

Zac, the second of the couple’s two boys, was schooled at Mill Hill—not Westminster or Harrow, though still one of the city’s better private schools.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026

Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service said six engines were sent to The Big Mill, a Grade II listed building in Mill Street, Leek, at 21:22 GMT on Friday.

From BBC • Mar. 28, 2026

Desert gold and brown-eyed primrose are appearing near Ashford Mill, along with sand verbena and fivespot.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 10, 2026

Cade Hernandez, who’d given me the socks with the sharks on them—the ones I wore the day Julia Bishop first noticed me at Burnt Mill Creek High School—had a knack for choosing the coolest gifts.

From "100 Sideways Miles" by Andrew Smith

Related Words

• foundry
• plant
• shop