Also called mulligan stew. a stew containing meat, vegetables, etc., especially one made of any available ingredients.
Golf. a shot not counted against the score, permitted in unofficial play to a player whose previous shot was poor.
First recorded in 1900–05; special use of proper name
A mulligan is a stew, often made with various leftovers. You might clean all the vegetables out of your fridge and whip up a mulligan. When you make a mulligan — also called a mulligan stew — you use odds and ends from your refrigerator and pantry. You can also use the word to refer to a specific situation in the game of golf: if you make a terrible shot, a mulligan is when you're allowed to try again. The stew came first, around 1905, and the golf stroke followed in the 1940s, possibly from the name of a specific Canadian golfer.
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Oil shocks and heightened geopolitical tensions have reignited a familiar debate about whether policymakers should formally raise their inflation targets or simply take a mulligan and recommit.
From Barron's ● Apr. 30, 2026
It’s as if MLS gave Colorado a mulligan and the way the game was played suffered as a result.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2024
This week, however, is his first major with the players from the regular tour — a well-used mulligan in a game that is stingy about second chances.
From Seattle Times ● May 14, 2024
Hopes of yet another mulligan came after a Week 7 win over Buffalo that stopped a 1-5 start.
From Washington Times ● Nov. 13, 2023
They were cooking their mulligan over the fires.
From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck
Mulligan is not Cole's biological son but had been raised by him since he was nine months old.
From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026
"Beef," a Netflix anthology, stars Oscar Isaac and Carey Mulligan in its second iteration, which focuses on the explosive dynamic between two couples.
From Barron's ● Jul. 8, 2026
Sally Field, “Remarkably Bright Creatures” “You feel sorry for Oscar Isaac’s character in ‘Beef’ because he’s so clearly outmatched by his partner, played by Carey Mulligan.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 19, 2026
Mulligan considered the aches, pains and blisters a small price for the “mingled sensations of camaraderie, achievement and wonder at Manhattan’s astonishing array of sights.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 14, 2026
Once he was dead, Baby Kochamma stripped Father Mulligan of his ridiculous saffron robes and re-clothed him in the Coca-Cola cassock she so loved.
From "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
