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run-of-the-mill

[ ruhn-uhv-thuh-mil ]
/ ˈrʌn əv ðəˈmɪl /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR run-of-the-mill ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

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

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Origin of run-of-the-mill

First recorded in 1925–30

Words nearby run-of-the-mill

run with, run-down, run-flat, run-in, run-of-paper, run-of-the-mill, run-of-the-mine, run-on, run-on sentence, run-out, run-through
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Words related to run of the mill

decent, so-so, middling, undistinguished, uninspired, second-rate, ordinary, dull, inferior, intermediate, mediocre, passable, run-of-the-mill, natural, traditional, orderly, regular, routine, typical, everyday

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

Cultural 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.”

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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]

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.