mug

American  

[muhg] / mʌg /

noun

1. a drinking cup, usually cylindrical in shape, having a handle, and often of a heavy substance, as earthenware.

2. the quantity it holds.

3. Slang.

   1. the face.

   2. the mouth.

   3. an exaggerated facial expression; grimace, as in acting.

   4. a thug, ruffian, or other criminal.

4. British Slang. a gullible person; dupe; fool.

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verb (used with object)

mugged, mugging

1. to assault or menace, especially with the intention of robbery.

2. Slang. to photograph (a person), especially in compliance with an official or legal requirement.

verb (used without object)

mugged, mugging

1. Slang. to grimace; exaggerate a facial expression, as in acting.

mug ¹ British  

/ mʌɡ /

noun

1. slang a person's face or mouth

   get your ugly mug out of here!

2. slang a grimace

3. slang a gullible person, esp one who is swindled easily

4. a worthless activity

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verb

1. informal (tr) to attack or rob (someone) violently

2. slang (intr) to pull faces or overact, esp in front of a camera

mug ² British  

/ mʌɡ /

noun

1. a drinking vessel with a handle, usually cylindrical and made of earthenware

2. Also called: mugful.  the quantity held by a mug or its contents

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Etymology

Origin of mug

First recorded in 1560–70; probably from Scandinavian; compare Swedish mugg, Norwegian, Danish mugge “drinking cup”; sense “face” apparently transferred from cups adorned with grotesque faces; sense “to assault” from earlier pugilistic slang “to strike in the face, fight”

Example Sentences

Home from their adventures—and with the picture book right side up again—the four children curl up by the fireplace with steaming mugs of hot cocoa.

From The Wall Street Journal

Instead of bait, lines and hooks, they are allowed to use only lures—anything from a coffee mug to a Jell-O mold—and pitchfork-like spears.

From The Wall Street Journal

Ceramic mugs are back, and the idea of the cafe as a welcoming third place is being reinstated.

From The Wall Street Journal

But he banned his mug from appearing on Morgan’s pints, worried it would suggest the bar in the $3 billion headquarters he helped build was some kind of vanity project.

From The Wall Street Journal

She poured a mug of water from her favorite blue bottle, brushed her teeth above a clump of grass that needed the spit, and started her chores.

From Literature

Related Words

• coffee cup
• jug