mill
1a factory for certain kinds of manufacture, as paper, steel, or textiles.
a building equipped with machinery for grinding grain into flour and other cereal products.
a machine for grinding, crushing, or pulverizing any solid substance: a coffee mill.
any of various machines that modify the shape or size of a workpiece by rotating tools or the work: rolling mill.
any of various other apparatuses for shaping materials or performing other mechanical operations.
a business or institution that dispenses products or services in an impersonal or mechanical manner, as if produced in a factory: a divorce mill; a diploma mill.
Machinery. a cutter on a milling machine.
a steel roller for receiving and transferring an impressed design, as to a calico-printing cylinder or a banknote-printing plate.
Mining. a place or set of machinery for crushing or concentrating ore.
Slang. a boxing match or fistfight.
to grind, work, treat, or shape in or with a mill.
Coining.
to make a raised edge on (a coin or the like).
to make narrow, radial grooves on the raised edge of (a coin or the like).
to move around aimlessly, slowly, or confusedly, as a herd of cattle (often followed by about or around).
Slang. to fight or box.
Idioms about mill
through the mill, Informal. undergoing or having undergone severe difficulties, trials, etc., especially with an effect on one's health, personality, or character: He's really been through the mill since his wife's death.
Origin of mill
1Other words for mill
Other definitions for mill (2 of 4)
a unit of monetary value equal to 0.001 of a U.S. dollar; one tenth of a cent: used at various times and places in the U.S. as a money of account, especially in certain tax rates.
Origin of mill
2Other definitions for Mill (3 of 4)
James, 1773–1836, English philosopher, historian, and economist, born in Scotland.
his son, John Stuart, 1806–73, English philosopher and economist.
Other definitions for mill. (4 of 4)
million.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use mill in a sentence
Thomas Gradgrind operates a school that parodies the educational methods of James mill, father of John Stuart mill.
Bain's Life of James mill gives some useful facts as to the later period.
The English Utilitarians, Volume I. | Leslie StephenHe not only cooled towards James mill, but, if Bowring is to be trusted, spoke of him with great harshness.
The English Utilitarians, Volume I. | Leslie StephenJames mill, he argued, had been equally without the local knowledge which I declared to be necessary to a self-respecting author.
The Life of Sir James Fitzjames Stephen, Bart., K.C.S.I. | Sir Leslie StephenJames mill was the typical beef-eating Englishman described by Taine.
Little Journeys to the Homes of the Great, Vol. 13 | Elbert Hubbard
As it is, James mill lives in history as the man who insisted that his baby three years old should be taught the Greek alphabet.
Little Journeys to the Homes of the Great, Vol. 13 | Elbert Hubbard
British Dictionary definitions for mill (1 of 3)
/ (mɪl) /
a building in which grain is crushed and ground to make flour
a factory, esp one which processes raw materials: a steel mill
any of various processing or manufacturing machines, esp one that grinds, presses, or rolls
any of various small hand mills used for grinding pepper, salt, or coffee for domestic purposes: See also coffee mill, pepper mill
a hard roller for impressing a design, esp in a textile-printing machine or in a machine for printing banknotes
a system, institution, etc, that influences people or things in the manner of a factory: going through the educational mill
an unpleasant experience; ordeal (esp in the phrases go or be put through the mill)
a fist fight
run of the mill ordinary or routine
(tr) to grind, press, or pulverize in or as if in a mill
(tr) to process or produce in or with a mill
to cut or roll (metal) with or as if with a milling machine
(tr) to groove or flute the edge of (a coin)
(intr; often foll by about or around) to move about in a confused manner
(usually tr) rare to beat (chocolate, etc)
archaic, slang to fight, esp with the fists
Origin of mill
1Derived forms of mill
- millable, adjective
British Dictionary definitions for mill (2 of 3)
/ (mɪl) /
a US and Canadian monetary unit used in calculations, esp for property taxes, equal to one thousandth of a dollar
Origin of mill
2British Dictionary definitions for Mill (3 of 3)
/ (mɪl) /
James. 1773–1836, Scottish philosopher, historian, and economist. He expounded Bentham's utilitarian philosophy in Elements of Political Economy (1821) and Analysis of the Phenomena of the Human Mind (1829) and also wrote a History of British India (1817–18)
his son, John Stuart. 1806–73, English philosopher and economist. He modified Bentham's utilitarian philosophy in Utilitarianism (1861) and in his treatise On Liberty (1859) he defended the rights and freedom of the individual. Other works include A System of Logic (1843) and Principles of Political Economy (1848)
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Other Idioms and Phrases with mill
see grist for the mill; mills of the gods grind slowly; run of the mill; through the mill; tilt at windmills.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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