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

See Examples For:

mug mugs mugged mugging

Winterich kept otherwise ordinary gifts — including a sunflower mug chosen because her mother knew yellow was her favorite color, because her mother would never give her another one.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 29, 2026

She shows me a plastic baby walker with a jagged broken leg and a Christmas Santa mug with no handle.

From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2026

Her daughter Shirley added: "Shirley has actually gifted me her childhood mug with her name on it."

From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026

Her expressionless mug has been featured on countless toys, not to mention bowling balls, motor oil, a Fender Strat, a pricey Judith Leiber clutch, sanitary napkins and men’s underwear.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026

I write a note to Mom telling her that we’re going to Lou Ann Adler’s and leave it on the table under a mug.

From "The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman" by Gennifer Choldenko

You can find quirky kitty tchotchkes, funny feline-themed mugs and hats with cats on them, as well as a vast array of vintage pop culture items, clothing and jewelry sans cats.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 7, 2026

I have no idea what children will make of a movie with as many semi-serious gags about extortionate legal bills as silly ones where a spider mugs a bug.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026

Cat mugs sold in his name have raised about £80 for the Coventry Foodbank project "and there's more to come", Dunkley said.

From BBC ● Aug. 9, 2026

I don’t use my Starbucks mugs to entertain, but that’s the only time Michael Sullivan and his husband pull them off the shelf.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 1, 2026

I washed and dried my dishes and our mugs, then wiped down the counter.

From "Keep It Together, Keiko Carter" by Debbi Michiko Florence

The pervasive threat is a constant topic of conversation in a way that crime was when I was growing up: who had been mugged, whose apartment had been robbed, whose car had been stolen.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026

Also: What kind of dingus gets mugged on Fifth Avenue?

From Salon ● Mar. 23, 2026

Ultrapure-water projects are big, one-off beasts that everybody and his brother wants to build, so even the smart operators can watch their margins get mugged the minute capital spending gets a head cold.

From MarketWatch ● Dec. 9, 2025

Victims who bought cars and vans with clocked mileage say they feel "mugged off" by the fraudsters who wound back a total of 2,000,000 miles off vehicle odometers.

From BBC ● Jan. 24, 2025

While Mr. Lemoncello mugged for the camera, Miguel turned to his teammates.

From "Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics" by Chris Grabenstein

Outside in the streets, the cosplayers enjoyed mugging for the cameras or taking selfies and laughing at themselves and others while interacting with their favorite celebrities.

From Salon ● Jul. 31, 2026

She admitted telling police in 2013 she had lost her work mobile phone in a mugging, but later found it had not been taken.

From BBC ● Jul. 9, 2026

He would know: His team’s 2025 report featured a photo of the Aerosmith frontman mugging alongside Rizer in his past life.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 22, 2026

“It is funny that the heaviest of all awards is given by actors — ’us what we do, it means so much,’” he said, mugging ponderous emotion.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 24, 2025

Dill took one hand off the handlebars and flexed his arm, mugging.

From "The Serpent King" by Jeff Zentner

Related Words

• coffee cup
• jug