mill
noun · verb
Simple meaning
A grinding apparatus for substances such as grains.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
milIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈmɪl
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
A grinding apparatus for substances such as grains, seeds, etc. (Some are small and simple, and some are large and complex.)
The building housing such a grinding apparatus; also, any similar building that houses a similarly material activity (such as weaving, fulling, dying, etc.); the place of business comprising such a building and its outbuildings and grounds.
A machine used for expelling the juice, sap, etc., from vegetable tissues by pressure, or by pressure in combination with a grinding, or cutting process; any similar apparatus that otherwise processes.
A machine for grinding and polishing.
A milling machine for machining of solid metal, wood, or plastic.
A milling cutter used on such a machine.
verb
transitive
To grind or otherwise process in a mill or other machine.
transitive
To shape, polish, dress or finish using a machine.
transitive
To cause to mill, or circle around.
Produce a ridge around the edge of
transitive
To engrave one or more grooves or a pattern around the edge of (a cylindrical object such as a coin).
To pass through a fulling mill; to full, as cloth.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A2 · Elementary (estimated)
- Frequency
- Common
- Typical Use
- General English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A grinding apparatus for substances such as grains, seeds, etc. (Some are small and simple, and some are large and complex.)
Used this way, mill is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It stays understated rather than dramatic. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Mild
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Confusing or complicated
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use mill
- “The old mill on the river used to grind grain for the village.”
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Inflected forms
Grammatical variations of the same word.
Corrugated edge of a coin.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
Machine tool in which metal that is secured to a carriage is fed against rotating cutters that shape it.
Machinery that processes materials by grinding or crushing.
Water wheel that is used to drive machinery in a mill.
A workman in a mill or factory.
A girl who works in a mill.
Be about.
Related words
Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.
Woodwork that has been machined at a mill.
Related Words
Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.
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What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.