mug

[ muhg ]

/ mʌg /

SEE 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.

Words nearby mug

muffle color, muffler, muffuletta, mufti, mufulira, mug, mug punter, mug shot, mug up, mug's game, mugabe

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”

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH mug

burglarize mug rip off rob steal (see synonym study at rob)

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Examples from the Web for 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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST

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|DAILY BEAST
Of course the men agreed with their employer, and they were all dismissed after being regaled with a mug of porter each.
Recollections of Old Liverpool|A Nonagenarian
The traveller, with a start that upset the cat's nerves, finished his own mug, and then ordered both to be refilled.
The White Cat|W.W. Jacobs
I turned away for the cup, and Private Penny, laying down his mug, addressed the newcomer.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 150, April 5, 1916|Various
Taken either in a goblet of sherry or in a mug of rum, or in half a pint of whisky, it never failed to revive his energies.
Winsome Winnie and other New Nonsense Novels|Stephen Leacock
He looked at her in a half-distracted way, and then put his hand to the mug.
The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 17, No. 104, June, 1866|Various

British Dictionary definitions for mug (1 of 2)

mug¹

/ (mʌɡ) /

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

British Dictionary definitions for mug (2 of 2)

mug²

/ (mʌɡ) /

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

mug

noun

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

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

Words related to mug

Words nearby mug

Origin of mug

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH mug

Examples from the Web for mug

British Dictionary definitions for mug (1 of 2)

noun

Word Origin for mug

British Dictionary definitions for mug (2 of 2)

noun

verb mugs, mugging or mugged

Word Origin for mug