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• run-of-the-mill
  run-of-the-mill

  adjective

  merely average; commonplace; mediocre.
• 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.”

run-of-the-mill

American  

[ruhn-uhv-thuh-mil] / ˈrʌn əv ðəˈmɪl /

adjective

1. merely average; commonplace; mediocre.

   just a plain, run-of-the-mill house; a run-of-the-mill performance.

   Synonyms:

   everyday, routine, ordinary

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run-of-the-mill British  

adjective

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

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run of the mill Cultural  

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

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run of the mill Idioms  

1. 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]

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Etymology

Origin of run-of-the-mill

First recorded in 1925–30

Explanation

Something run-of-the-mill is average and unexceptional. Nothing unusual happens during a run-of-the-mill day. Originally, this term has to do with material produced by a mill — such as lumber — that had the same size and quality. From there, it came to refer to other things that don't vary. A run-of-the-mill baseball player is ordinary: not great, but not terrible. A run-of-the-mill school grade is C. If something is very good or bad, it's noteworthy and therefore not run-of-the-mill.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

run-of-the-mill run of the mill

At first glance, such posts seem like run-of-the-mill viral content.

From Slate ● Jun. 27, 2026

During my first watch, I thought this would be a run-of-the-mill, substandard thriller: Establish the characters, ramp up the obsession, throw a little violence in.

From Salon ● Apr. 5, 2026

Thus, the dollar’s decline isn’t run-of-the-mill market noise, but the natural result of the U.S. giving priority to the dollar’s domestic role over its global one.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 29, 2026

The emotional earnestness that would often come through in Reiner’s work first emerged here, making what could have been a run-of-the-mill exercise into something more.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 15, 2025

Then, out of this run-of-the-mill swing exuberance, something emerges that is new in its sound, new in its execution and new in its improvisatory style.

From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall

In the season's horrific detour from the run of the mill, only one confusing couple has only survived the what felt like the show's version of "The Hunger Games."

From Salon ● Oct. 18, 2023

“This is not a run of the mill rotation,” he said when meeting with U.S. commanders there.

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 17, 2023

Transparency mode is a little more run of the mill but serves its purpose if you need a quick check-in with the outside world.

From The Verge ● Jul. 16, 2022

So I can feel upset with any tragedy but in the normal run of the mill sort of thing, it's very difficult for me to tune into emotions.

From BBC ● Jun. 19, 2022

He was head and shoulders smarter than the run of the mill, and after he’d watched the sun and moon and stars fer a long time he set down and he done some figgerin’.

From "Across Five Aprils" by Irene Hunt

Related Words

• middling
• undistinguished