mull

1 of 4

verb (1)

ˈməl 

mulled; mulling; mulls

transitive verb

1

: to grind or mix thoroughly : pulverize

mull a portion of the pigment with the oil

—H. J. Wolfe

2

: to consider at length : ponder

—often used with over

mulled over his choices

It's a fine offer, but we need time to mull it over.

intransitive verb

: meditate, ponder

all his talk of mulling and weighing and balancing was vacillation

—J. P. Marquand

mull

2 of 4

verb (2)

mulled; mulling; mulls

transitive verb

: to heat, sweeten, and flavor (a beverage, such as wine or cider) with spices

mull

3 of 4

noun (1)

: a soft fine sheer fabric of cotton, silk, or rayon

mull

4 of 4

noun (2)

1

: friable forest humus that forms a layer of mixed organic matter and mineral soil and merges gradually into the mineral soil beneath

2

: a finely powdered solid especially in a suspension

Synonyms

Verb (1)

• grind
• pound
• crush
• beat
• disintegrate
• powder
• mill

Examples of mull in a Sentence

Verb (1)

the dentist was in the habit of mulling the mercury amalgam in the palm of his hand

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

The guest list for the event includes senior American politicians and Silicon Valley glitterati, and comes as US officials mull whether to allow Nvidia to sell its cutting-edge Blackwell chips to China. —Prashant Rao, semafor.com, 28 Oct. 2025

Democrats are mulling changes to their early presidential calendar, with a number of states jockeying to be considered in the early window. —Caroline Vakil, The Hill, 27 Oct. 2025

Schneider was noncommittal about the decision to start Bichette over the past couple of days, mulling it until finally announcing it hours before the game. —Nelson Espinal, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Oct. 2025

There’s no shortage of time to mull the details. —Rowan Jacobsen, Harpers Magazine, 24 Oct. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Verb (1)

Middle English, from mul, mol dust, probably from Middle Dutch; akin to Old English melu meal — more at meal

Verb (2)

origin unknown

Noun (1)

by shortening & alteration from mulmul muslin, from Hindi malmal

Noun (2)

Danish muld, from Old Norse mold dust, soil; akin to Old High German molta dust, soil — more at mold entry 5

First Known Use

Verb (1)

15th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Verb (2)

1618, in the meaning defined above

Noun (1)

1778, in the meaning defined above

Noun (2)

1923, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for mull

• cull
• dull
• gul
• gull
• lull
• ndebele
• null
• scull
• skull
• stull
• trull
• tulle

Kids Definition

mull

1 of 2 verb

ˈməl 

: to think about slowly and carefully : ponder

mull over an idea

mull

2 of 2 verb

: to sweeten, spice, and heat

mulled wine

Etymology

Verb

Middle English mullen "to grind up or mix thoroughly," from mul, mol "dust"

Verb

origin unknown

Medical Definition

mull

1 of 2 transitive verb

ˈməl 

: to grind or mix thoroughly (as in a mortar) : pulverize

the alloy, after removal from the amalgamator, was mulled in the palm of the hand

—Journal of American Dental Association

mull

2 of 2 noun

1

: a soft fine sheer fabric of cotton, silk, or rayon

2

: an ointment of high melting point intended to be spread on muslin or mull and used like a plaster

zinc mull

Geographical Definition

Mull

geographical name

ˈməl 

island of western Scotland in the Inner Hebrides area 351 square miles (913 square kilometers), population 1499