mug

[muhg]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR mug ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

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

the quantity it holds.

Slang.

the face.
the mouth.
an exaggerated facial expression; grimace, as in acting.
a thug, ruffian, or other criminal.

British Slang. a gullible person; dupe; fool.

verb (used with object), mugged, mug·ging.

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

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

verb (used without object), mugged, mug·ging.

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

Origin of mug

1560–70; probably < 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”

Can be confusedburglarize mug rip off rob steal (see synonym study at rob)

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

Related Words for mug

jug, rob, tankard, flagon, demitasse, stoup, toby, profile, puss, frown, mask, kisser, countenance, grimace, assault, steal

Examples from the Web for mug

Contemporary Examples of mug

To this day, Bush media maven Roger Ailes adamantly denies that he or the campaign had any role in the Willie Horton mug shot ad.
Want President Hillary? Then Primary Her
Jeff Greenfield
November 24, 2014
He plants himself on an outdoor couch, stirs Nesquik into a mug, and leans forward.
A Belgian Prince, Gorillas, Guerrillas & the Future of the Congo
Nina Strochlic
November 6, 2014
Beside the mug shot of McCollum was one of a man named Wayne Laws.
How the North Carolina GOP Made a Wrongfully Convicted Man a Death Row Scapegoat
Michael Daly
September 4, 2014
You know, he dug up 32-year-old mug shots of me that I had never even seen before, that had never been posted.
The Weirdest Story About a Conservative Obsession, a Convicted Bomber, and Taylor Swift You Have Ever Read
David Weigel
August 30, 2014
When he turned himself in, he wore a smirk in his mug shot, and then he went out for ice cream with reporters in tow.
Vote for the (Alleged) Crooks! How Rick Perry, Chris Christie, and Scott Walker are Running While Under Investigation
Olivia Nuzzi
August 29, 2014

Historical Examples of mug

Here, Cyrus, you reach me down your mug—ain't them your shavin' things up there?
Meadow Grass
Alice Brown
I suppose it was that picture with the mug and the clay pipe.
Jan and Her Job
L. Allen Harker
The mug shots were stuck on the card, arrest details and such inserted.
Arm of the Law
Harry Harrison
I don't care a hang; but there will be some fun when he shows his mug to-morrow.
To-morrow
Joseph Conrad
A mug of mulled claret for a nightcap, and a good sleep, will set you all right.
Barrington
Charles James Lever

British Dictionary definitions for mug

mug

noun

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

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

Word Origin for mug

C16: probably from Scandinavian; compare Swedish mugg

mug

noun

slang a person's face or mouthget your ugly mug out of here!

slang a grimace

British slang a gullible person, esp one who is swindled easily

a mug's game a worthless activity

verb mugs, mugging or mugged

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

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

Word Origin for mug

C18: perhaps from mug 1, since drinking vessels were sometimes modelled into the likeness of a face

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 mug

n.1

"drinking vessel," 1560s, "bowl, pot, jug," of unknown origin, perhaps from Scandinavian (cf. Swedish mugg "mug, jug," Norwegian mugge "pitcher, open can for warm drinks"), or Low German mokke, mukke "mug," also of unknown origin.

n.2

"a person's face," 1708, possibly from mug (n.1), on notion of drinking mugs shaped like grotesque faces. Sense of "portrait or photograph in police records (e.g. mug shot, 1950) had emerged by 1887. Hence, also, "a person" (especially "a criminal"), 1890.

v.1

"to beat up," 1818, originally "to strike the face" (in pugilism), from mug (n.2). The general meaning "attack" is first attested 1846, and "attack to rob" is from 1864. Perhaps influenced by thieves' slang mug "dupe, fool, sucker" (1851). Related: Mugged; mugging.

v.2

"make exaggerated facial expressions," 1855, originally theatrical slang, from mug (n.2). Related: Mugged; mugging.