run-of-the-mill

[ruhn-uhv-thuh-mil]

See more 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.

Origin of run-of-the-mill

First recorded in 1925–30

Synonyms for run-of-the-mill

See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.com

ordinary, routine, everyday.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for run-of-the-mill

middling, undistinguished, common, commonplace, customary, everyday, fair, humdrum, intermediate, mainstream, mediocre, medium, ordinary, regular, routine, so-so, unexceptional, usual, garden-variety

Examples from the Web for run-of-the-mill

Contemporary Examples of run-of-the-mill

Most cases involve significant mental illness, not run-of-the-mill depression or anxiety.
One Breakdown Can Mean Losing Your Kid Forever
ProPublica
May 30, 2014
The results yield computer chips 9,000 times faster than a run-of-the-mill computer, using only the power of a tablet PC.
The Computer That Replicates a Human Brain
Dale Eisinger
May 1, 2014
A c--t is different than your run-of-the-mill jerk (or scoundrel, or creep, or whatever).
Game of Thrones’ ‘The Lion and the Rose’: Joffrey’s Demented, Shocking Royal Wedding
Andrew Romano
April 14, 2014
Sabo is as incoherent and hateful as any run-of-the-mill troll.
Breitbart Twerks Pelosi With Credibility-Destroying Ad
Emily Shire
April 8, 2014
The ad, for former Republican city council member Carl DeMaio, is in many ways a run-of-the-mill American political commercial.
Out, Proud and Loud: A GOP Nominee Breaks Boundaries
James Kirchick
February 18, 2014

Historical Examples of run-of-the-mill

The street was full of people—strangers who didn't look like your run-of-the-mill artist.
The Syndic
C.M. Kornbluth

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

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.