run-of-the-mine

adjective

ˌrən-ə(v)-t͟hə-ˈmīn How to pronounce run-of-the-mine (audio)
variants or run-of-mine
Definition of run-of-the-minenext
as in decent
of average to below average quality so far, the job posting has attracted only run-of-the-mine applicants

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for run-of-the-mine
  1. decent
  2. ordinary
  3. satisfactory
  4. medium
  5. common
  6. mediocre
  7. indifferent
  8. fair
Adjective
  • Motorists were able to get around alright within individual cities and towns, but there was no decent network connecting them.
    — Shelley Jones, Chicago Tribune, 2 Nov. 2026
  • The defense is elite, the team has a decent schedule, and the offense is ranked 12th in the NFL in yards per game.
    — David Troy OutKick, FOXNews.com, 2 Nov. 2026
Definition of decent
Adjective
  • When a family is one ordinary bill from the edge, its backup plan is sleeping in the car.
    — Phil Mattingly, CNN Money, 1 Nov. 2026
  • The Ohio State University In ordinary air, oxygen molecules settle onto the sensor surfaces and draw electrons away from the material, increasing its electrical resistance.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 1 Nov. 2026
Definition of ordinary
Adjective
  • Why not, then, return to 2016 spending amounts which seemed satisfactory at the time?
    — Letters to the Editor, The Orlando Sentinel, 28 Oct. 2026
  • Harriot quickly found a convenient formula for how many were arranged in a square pyramid based on the number in the bottom row and was able to present Raleigh with a satisfactory solution.
    — Manon Bischoff, Scientific American, 27 Oct. 2026
Definition of satisfactory
Adjective
  • Willowgrove would include 197 low-density homes, 515 medium-density units and 538 high-density units, such as apartments and condominiums.
    — Daniel Lempres, Sacbee.com, 4 Nov. 2026
  • To address these challenge, Envision came up with a new system that can convert electricity directly from a 10-kilovolt (kV) medium-voltage input to an 800-volt DC power system.
    — Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 3 Nov. 2026
Definition of medium
Adjective
  • Frye called for policies that increase transparency around gate utilization rate, establish meaningful utilization standards and expand the number of common-use gates.
    — Charlotte Observer, Charlotte Observer, 7 Nov. 2026
  • Pest control Many common rose pests — including rose slugs, thrips, chilli thrips, and spider mites — pupate in the soil or overwinter in fallen plant debris.
    — Rita Perwich, San Diego Union-Tribune, 7 Nov. 2026
Definition of common
Adjective
  • They were blown out 31-3 by Ole Miss, lost to what's clearly a mediocre Mississippi State team, though at least that was with Kamario Taylor, but their big win over Florida now looks much less impressive considering the Gators' collapse.
    — Ian Miller OutKick, FOXNews.com, 3 Nov. 2026
  • The best, the least mediocre, unfortunately, is Tadao Ando, the better of whose work derives from Kahn, the plain modular rectangles made of concrete framed by verticals and, less clear even in Kahn, the geometric cuts and sections.
    — Julian Rose, Artforum, 1 Nov. 2026
Definition of mediocre
Adjective
  • Margo describes the art of the remix album as community building, and sees it as a response to years of indifferent pop features that seemed to serve little creative purpose beyond boosting streams.
    — Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 6 Nov. 2026
  • At times, perhaps too much control led to the occasional indifferent performance.
    — Tom Huizenga, NPR, 4 Nov. 2026
Definition of indifferent
Adjective
  • Golden State’s defense made things very hard for Atlanta again, and Gabby Williams took over in the second half, leaving our fair city’s professional championship count at three (two Braves, one United).
    — Tyler Estep, AJC.com, 2 Nov. 2026
  • But the artistic problem here is that Walker just can’t bring herself to be fair.
    — Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune, 2 Nov. 2026
Definition of fair
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

run-of-the-mill
run-of-the-mine
run on
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Run-of-the-mine.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/run-of-the-mine. Accessed 8 Nov. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of cockamamie

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Old-Timey Vehicles

The Words of the Week - Nov. 6

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
woman sitting on floor holding book in front of her face on pink background
Famous Novels, Last Lines Quiz Needless to say, spoiler alert.
See All