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
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
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
milled; milling; mills
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)
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
: a money of account equal to ¹/₁₀ cent
Synonyms
Examples of mill in a Sentence
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 WebBrandy Zadrozny, NBC News, 3 Apr. 2024
The 31-year-old home baker is milling her own corn to make homemade Corn Flakes, a Kellogg’s product dupe, and posted a TikTok of the recipe—as well as a call to action to boycott the snack food conglomerate.
@rocketman_dee
Did someone say boycott?
—Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune, 16 Mar. 2024
The footage also shows many officers milling about in the hallway outside of the room where the Crumbleys were found.
—Gina Kaufman, Detroit Free Press, 12 Mar. 2024
Video taken from a building overlooking the celebration shows thousands of fans clad in red Chiefs gear milling about in a park in front of Union Station.
—Heather Hollingsworth, arkansasonline.com, 16 Feb. 2024
Confetti dotted the floor, and children milled about onstage, inspecting a wooden barn.
—Kyle Chayka, The New Yorker, 25 Mar. 2024
Additionally, trees removed from the lot were milled and used for cedar siding on the exterior of the home.
—Sarah Yang, Sunset Magazine, 13 Mar. 2024
Transitioning into a din of chatter, the audience plucked up their bags and hats, slipped on their coats and scarves, milled around in the aisles for a bit, and slowly vanished through the exits.
—Michael Andor Brodeur, Washington Post, 21 Feb. 2024
Nuggets players, coaches and front office staff were still milling about as Djokovic held court outside the visiting locker room.
—Bennett Durando, The Denver Post, 10 Mar. 2024
Ben Morse, CNN, 5 Apr. 2024
Since the mill closed, Mr. Morton, who has a photographic memory and used to stay after work to sketch machines, built a complete virtual reality model of the mill, down to the nuts and bolts.
—Sophie Hills, The Christian Science Monitor, 5 Apr. 2024
While none of the breeding facilities, feed mills, pullet facilities and distribution centers are located in Indiana, surrounding states like Kentucky and Tennessee have locations.
—Marina Johnson, The Indianapolis Star, 5 Apr. 2024
Cotton threads are woven on a large loom at a mill somewhere in Asia, then shipped to a dye house, then shipped (usually a great distance) to a garment factory somewhere else in Asia.
—Alden Wicker, WIRED, 14 Mar. 2024
Under the bonnet was GM’s LSA V-8, a 6.2-liter mill that was derived from the C6 Corvette ZR1’s LS9.
—Sean Evans, Robb Report, 5 Apr. 2024
Or, head to the Mill Inn, a former flour mill at the foot of the Big Horn Mountains.
—Perri Ormont Blumberg, Travel + Leisure, 27 Mar. 2024
Courtesy of the artist Kacey Jeffers, Untitled (Sugar mill/Nature is winning), Golden Rock Inn, from the series Postcards From the Future, 2022.
—Olivia Horner, Vogue, 26 Mar. 2024
The mill produces 443 hp and 413 ft lbs of torque, which is 27 hp more but 37 ft lbs of torque less than its predecessor.
—Bryan Hood, Robb Report, 26 Mar. 2024
Verb
Two dozen people milled around, listening to a mix of protest songs that ESJC’s vice chair, James Neal, had made for the occasion.
—Brandy Zadrozny, NBC News, 3 Apr. 2024
The 31-year-old home baker is milling her own corn to make homemade Corn Flakes, a Kellogg’s product dupe, and posted a TikTok of the recipe—as well as a call to action to boycott the snack food conglomerate.
@rocketman_dee
Did someone say boycott?
—Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune, 16 Mar. 2024
The footage also shows many officers milling about in the hallway outside of the room where the Crumbleys were found.
—Gina Kaufman, Detroit Free Press, 12 Mar. 2024
Video taken from a building overlooking the celebration shows thousands of fans clad in red Chiefs gear milling about in a park in front of Union Station.
—Heather Hollingsworth, arkansasonline.com, 16 Feb. 2024
Confetti dotted the floor, and children milled about onstage, inspecting a wooden barn.
—Kyle Chayka, The New Yorker, 25 Mar. 2024
Additionally, trees removed from the lot were milled and used for cedar siding on the exterior of the home.
—Sarah Yang, Sunset Magazine, 13 Mar. 2024
Transitioning into a din of chatter, the audience plucked up their bags and hats, slipped on their coats and scarves, milled around in the aisles for a bit, and slowly vanished through the exits.
—Michael Andor Brodeur, Washington Post, 21 Feb. 2024
Nuggets players, coaches and front office staff were still milling about as Djokovic held court outside the visiting locker room.
—Bennett Durando, The Denver Post, 10 Mar. 2024
Noun
Box office action The Premier League is often billed as ‘the best league in the world’ and the string of 4-3 results this season only adds further grist to that particular mill.
—Ben Morse, CNN, 5 Apr. 2024
Since the mill closed, Mr. Morton, who has a photographic memory and used to stay after work to sketch machines, built a complete virtual reality model of the mill, down to the nuts and bolts.
—Sophie Hills, The Christian Science Monitor, 5 Apr. 2024
While none of the breeding facilities, feed mills, pullet facilities and distribution centers are located in Indiana, surrounding states like Kentucky and Tennessee have locations.
—Marina Johnson, The Indianapolis Star, 5 Apr. 2024
Cotton threads are woven on a large loom at a mill somewhere in Asia, then shipped to a dye house, then shipped (usually a great distance) to a garment factory somewhere else in Asia.
—Alden Wicker, WIRED, 14 Mar. 2024
Under the bonnet was GM’s LSA V-8, a 6.2-liter mill that was derived from the C6 Corvette ZR1’s LS9.
—Sean Evans, Robb Report, 5 Apr. 2024
Or, head to the Mill Inn, a former flour mill at the foot of the Big Horn Mountains.
—Perri Ormont Blumberg, Travel + Leisure, 27 Mar. 2024
Courtesy of the artist Kacey Jeffers, Untitled (Sugar mill/Nature is winning), Golden Rock Inn, from the series Postcards From the Future, 2022.
—Olivia Horner, Vogue, 26 Mar. 2024
The mill produces 443 hp and 413 ft lbs of torque, which is 27 hp more but 37 ft lbs of torque less than its predecessor.
—Bryan Hood, Robb Report, 26 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'mill.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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
Time Traveler
The first known use of mill was
before the 12th century
Phrases Containing mill
Dictionary Entries Near mill
Cite this Entry
“Mill.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mill. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024.
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Kids Definition
mill
2 of 3 verb1
: 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
Biographical Definition
Mill 1 of 2
biographical name (1)
James 1773–1836 Scottish philosopher, historian, and economist
Mill
2 of 2biographical name (2)
John Stuart 1806–1873 son of James Mill English philosopher and economist
More from Merriam-Webster on mill
Nglish: Translation of mill for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of mill for Arabic Speakers
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about mill
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