mince

[mins]

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verb (used with object), minced, minc·ing.

to cut or chop into very small pieces.

to soften, moderate, or weaken (one's words), especially for the sake of decorum or courtesy.

to perform or utter with affected elegance.

to subdivide minutely, as land or a topic for study.

verb (used without object), minced, minc·ing.

to walk or move with short, affectedly dainty steps.

Archaic. to act or speak with affected elegance.

noun

something cut up very small; mincemeat.

Idioms

not mince words/matters, to speak directly and frankly; be blunt or outspoken: He was angry and didn't mince words.

Origin of mince

1350–1400; Middle English mincen < Middle French minc(i)er < Vulgar Latin *minūtiāre to mince; see minute²

Related formsminc·er, nounun·minced, adjective

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

Related Words for mincer

molar, dicer, mincer, axe

Examples from the Web for mincer

Historical Examples of mincer

"I've helped to 'try out' one hundred and fifty bar'ls from one whale," said the mincer.
Belford's Magazine, Vol. II, No. 3, February 1889
Various
The mincer now stands before you invested in the full canonicals of his calling.
Moby Dick; or The Whale
Herman Melville
They have no interest in making the million take their literature after it has been passed through a mincer.
The Curse of Education
Harold E. Gorst
After being severed from the whale, the white-horse is first cut into portable oblongs ere going to the mincer.
Moby Dick; or The Whale
Herman Melville

British Dictionary definitions for mincer

mincer

noun

an appliance used to mince meat

mince

verb

(tr) to chop, grind, or cut into very small pieces

(tr) to soften or moderate, esp for the sake of convention or politenessI didn't mince my words

(intr) to walk or speak in an affected dainty manner

noun

mainly British minced meat

informal nonsensical rubbish

Word Origin for mince

C14: from Old French mincier, from Vulgar Latin minūtiāre (unattested), from Late Latin minūtia smallness; see minutiae

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 mincer

mince

late 14c., "to chop in little pieces," from Old French mincier "make into small pieces," from Vulgar Latin *minutiare "make small," from Late Latin minutiæ "small bits," from Latin minutus "small" (see minute (adj.)). Of speech, "to clip affectedly in imitation of elegance," 1540s; of words or language, "to restrain in the interest of decorum," 1590s. Meaning "to walk with short or precise steps" is from 1560s. Related: Minced; mincing.

mince

"minced meat," 1850; see mincemeat.