run-of-the-mill

[ruhn-uhv-thuh-mil]

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adjective

merely average; commonplace; mediocre: just a plain, run-of-the-mill house; a run-of-the-mill performance.

Origin of run-of-the-mill

First recorded in 1925–30

Synonyms for run-of-the-mill

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR run-of-the-mill ON THESAURUS.COM

ordinary, routine, everyday.

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

British Dictionary definitions for run of the mill

run-of-the-mill

adjective

ordinary, average, or undistinguished in quality, character, or nature; not special or excellent

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 run of the mill

run-of-the-mill

adj.

"unspectacular," 1909 in a literal sense, in reference to material yielded by a mill, etc., before sorting for quality (cf. common run "usual, ordinary type," from 1712). Figurative use is from 1922.

Culture definitions for run of the mill

run of the mill

Common, ordinary, average: “His performance in the game was neither exemplary nor disastrous; it was simply run of the mill.”

Idioms and Phrases with run of the mill

run of the mill

Ordinary, average, as in There's nothing special about these singers—they're just run of the mill. This expression alludes to fabrics coming directly from a mill without having been sorted or inspected for quality. It has survived such similar phrases as run of the mine and run of the kiln, for the products of mines and kilns. [Late 1800s]