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

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

Because the Capitol loves a celebrity — as evidenced by an abundance of young women in bright pink blazers milling the hallways hoping for a glimpse. —Anita Chabria, Los Angeles Times, 16 Apr. 2024

Outside the courthouse, a crowd of about 100 people milled around under the thin tree canopy of Collect Pond Park. —Simmone Shah, TIME, 15 Apr. 2024

On Saturday afternoon, a large portion of the shopping center remained blocked off by police cars as about a dozen law enforcement officers milled around. —Remington Miller, arkansasonline.com, 6 Apr. 2024

Commercial oat flour is made by milling oat groats, which are oat berries with their husks removed. —Shilpa Uskokovic, Bon Appétit, 15 Mar. 2024

From designing and milling dental prosthetics to creating custom abutments, the lab leverages this technology to consistently produce superior results. —Chris Gallagher, USA TODAY, 1 Feb. 2024

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

Noun

The group in February shut its sugar mill in Santa Rosa, Texas, after 51 years of operation due to the lack of water from Mexico. —Leah Douglas, The Christian Science Monitor, 18 Apr. 2024

Wawa was founded in 1803 and incorporated in 1865 as the Millville Manufacturing Company, a textile company with mills in several states and sales offices across the country, according to the company. —Gabe Hauari, USA TODAY, 16 Apr. 2024

The measure also eliminates taxes on Social Security income, lowers the statewide mill levy for schools from 20 mills to 19.5 mils and accelerates the elimination of the state sales tax on food to July 1, six months ahead of current law. —Jonathan Shorman, Kansas City Star, 10 Apr. 2024

The mill produces 200 hp and 350 ft lbs of torque which was split between all four wheels by a three-speed automatic gearbox. —Bryan Hood, Robb Report, 6 Apr. 2024

During this phase several changes were made to the circuit; particularly to resonance time, flotation columns slurry pumps, angles of cleat conveyors, stir media and polishing mill charge capacities and tails management. —Miami Herald, 3 Apr. 2024

Earlier this month, Cal-Maine purchased a broiler processing plant, hatchery and feed mill in Dexter, Missouri from Tyson Foods TSN -0.1% Inc. —Gurufocus, Forbes, 29 Mar. 2024

The British tabloid press, notorious for hounding royals and celebrities but who have shown restraint in recent weeks, have openly accused the United States and its media of intensifying the frenzied rumor mill. —Elizabeth Paton, New York Times, 25 Mar. 2024

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

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