mug

American  

[muhg] / mʌg /

noun

mugs plural

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)

mugs, present (3rd person singular) mugged, past participle, past mugging present participle

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)

mugs, present (3rd person singular) mugged, past participle, past mugging present participle

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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Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• mugs
  plural

Participles

• mugging
  present
• mugged
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• mug
  simple
• mugs
  simple
• have mugged
  perfect
• has mugged
  perfect
• am mugging
  progressive
• are mugging
  progressive
• is mugging
  progressive
• have been mugging
  perfect progressive
• has been mugging
  perfect progressive

Past

• mugged
  simple
• had mugged
  perfect
• was mugging
  progressive
• were mugging
  progressive
• had been mugging
  perfect progressive

Future

• will mug
  simple
• will have mugged
  perfect
• will be mugging
  progressive
• will have been mugging
  perfect progressive

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”

Explanation

Mug is a funny word that could represent a cup, your face, or even what you do when you rob someone. And, if you mug someone for their mug, you may end up getting a mug shot taken of your guilty face. Confusing? Read on. A mug is an informal vessel for drinking coffee or tea, as opposed to a china tea cup or a demitasse espresso cup, for example. Informally, a mug is a face: that's why a mug shot of a prisoner is a picture of his face right after he has been arrested. When it's a verb, mug means "rob someone while threatening violence." This meaning came from an earlier definition, "to strike someone in the face (or the mug)."

Example Sentences

So to all you souvenir snobs, put that in your Starbucks mug and drink it.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 1, 2026

Add coffee, whether that’s hot in a thermos, iced in a travel mug or purchased from a nearby café on the way to the park, and you’re done.

From Salon • Jun. 18, 2026

His eBay seller’s page featured sports collectibles and plenty of GameStop-related merchandise, such as a GameStop mug for over $3,000, a GameStop mouse pad for over $1,500 and a pair of socks for over $14,000.

From MarketWatch • May 12, 2026

Hutt became a keen royalist at the age of four, when the King and Queen visited his parents after the Blitz in London and gave him a souvenir mug.

From BBC • May 10, 2026

Dad puts a steaming mug on the table in front of Gran.

From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam

Related Words

• coffee cup
• jug