mill

1 of 4

noun (1)

ˈmil 

1

: a building provided with machinery for processing and especially for grinding grain into flour

2

a

: a machine or apparatus for grinding grain

b

: a device or machine for reducing something (as by crushing or grinding) to small pieces or particles

a pepper mill

c

: a machine for hulling grain kernels (as of rice, oats, or spelt)

3

: a building or collection of buildings with machinery for manufacturing

a paper mill

steel mills

4

: a machine that manufactures by the continuous repetition of some simple action

5

a

: a machine formerly used for stamping coins

b

: a machine for expelling juice from vegetable tissues by pressure or grinding

a cider mill

6

: milling machine, milling cutter

7

a

: a slow, laborious, or mechanical process or routine

Pacquiao has filed about a dozen bills as congressman but none has passed any of the committees they have been referred to, the first hurdle in the legislative mill.

—Oliver Teves

b

: one that produces or processes people or things mechanically or in large numbers

a diploma mill

a rumor mill

8

: a difficult and often educational experience

—used in the phrase through the mill

9

: the engine of an automobile or boat

mill

2 of 4

verb

milled; milling; mills

transitive verb

1

: to subject to an operation or process in a mill: such as

a

: to grind into flour, meal, or powder

milling wheat

b

: to remove the outer layers of (seed kernels) : to subject to hulling

milling rice to remove the husk and bran layers

c

: to shape or dress by means of a rotary cutter

d

: to mix and condition (something, such as rubber) by passing between rotating rolls

2

: to give a raised rim or a ridged or corrugated edge to (a coin)

3

: to cut grooves in the metal surface of (something, such as a knob)

intransitive verb

1

a

: to move about in a disorderly or aimless fashion

a crowd milling about outside the theater exit

b

of cattle : to move about in a circling mass

2

: to hit out with the fists

3

: to undergo milling

seed too wet to mill properly

mill

3 of 4

noun (2)

variant spelling of mil entry 2

slang

: a million dollars

mill

4 of 4

noun (3)

: a money of account equal to ¹/₁₀ cent

Synonyms

Noun (1)

• factory
• manufactory
• plant
• shop
• works
• workshop

Verb

• atomize
• beat
• bray
• comminute
• crush
• disintegrate
• grind
• mull
• pound
• powder
• pulverize

Examples of mill in a Sentence

Noun (1)

a steel mill that remains the town's principal employer

Verb

The crowd was milling outside the exit.

a demonstration of how dried kernels of corn were milled in colonial times

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

Election workers milled inside the conference room — home to 13 tabulators set to count ballots. —Madison Lammert, Journal Sentinel, 6 Nov. 2024

The Aperol spritzes, however, were still flowing as a handful of collectors milled around the space, staring longingly into the cases. —Victoria Gomelsky, Robb Report, 21 Oct. 2024

Noun

The jacket’s material comes from 12-year-old cloth sourced from a Scottish mill, excess fabric that was stored unused in a warehouse. —John Kell, Forbes, 31 Oct. 2024

Pass the potatoes through a ricer or food mill and over the butter in bowl. —Shelli McConnell, Better Homes & Gardens, 30 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English mille, from Old English mylen, from Late Latin molina, molinum, from feminine and neuter of molinus of a mill, of a millstone, from Latin mola mill, millstone; akin to Latin molere to grind — more at meal

Noun (3)

Latin mille thousand

First Known Use

Noun (1)

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1511, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Noun (3)

1786, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing mill

• ball mill
• coffee mill
• diploma mill
• gin mill
• grist for one's/the mill
• grist to one's/the mill
• hammer mill
• mill wheel
• pepper mill
• per mill
• pug mill
• puppy mill
• rolling mill
• run-of-the-mill
• stamp mill
• the rumor mill
• through the mill
• water mill

Kids Definition

mill

1 of 3 noun

ˈmil 

1

: a building with machinery for grinding grain into flour

2

: a machine used in treating (as by grinding, crushing, stamping, cutting, or finishing) raw material

3

: factory

mill

2 of 3 verb

1

: to process in a mill (as by grinding into flour, meal, or powder or by shaping with a cutter)

2

: to give a raised rim or a grooved edge to

mill a coin

3

: to move about in a disorderly mass

people were milling about the entrance to the theater

mill

3 of 3 noun

: one tenth of a cent

Etymology

Noun

Old English mylen "mill" from Latin molina (same meaning), derived from earlier mola "mill, millstone" — related to molar see Word History at molar

Noun

from Latin mille "thousand"; so called because it is one one-thousandth of a dollar

Biographical Definition

Mill 1 of 2

biographical name (1)

ˈmil 

James 1773–1836 Scottish philosopher, historian, and economist

Mill

2 of 2

biographical name (2)

John Stuart 1806–1873 son of James Mill English philosopher and economist