mill

A grinding apparatus for substances such as grains, seeds, etc. (Some are small and simple, and some are large and complex.)

Noun

  1. A grinding apparatus for substances such as grains, seeds, etc. (Some are small and simple, and some are large and complex.)
    • Pepper has a stronger flavor when it is ground straight from a mill.
  2. 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.
    • My great-grandfather worked in a mill. He filled the flour sacks and then carried and loaded them.
    • […] for the Townsfolk will go to thy mill, and grind their corn […] at their own good pleasure; nor can I hinder them, since they are free men. - 1843 April, Thomas Carlyle, chapter XV, in Past and Present, American...
    • On Sept. 9 a boiler exploded in Hanke's flouring mill, […] - 1880 January 1, The Locomotive, volume 1, number 1, Hartford, Conn.: The Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection And Insurance Company, page 9:
  3. 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 cider mill; a cane mill
  4. A machine for grinding and polishing.
    • a lapidary mill
  5. A milling machine for machining of solid metal, wood, or plastic.
    • Several machinists were busy operating the lathes, mills, and drill presses on the shop floor.

    Hypernyms: machine tool machine

  6. A milling cutter used on such a machine.
    • After the drilling and tapping operations, we come in with a mill and do some contouring.
  7. A manufacturing plant for paper, steel, textiles, flooring, and some other kinds of materials.
    • Once the billet gets through the 56-inch mill, it is ready for reheating.
  8. The building complex housing such a plant; the place of business comprising such buildings and their grounds.
    • My grandfather worked in a mill. He operated machinery, did maintenance, and drove forklifts.
  9. An establishment that handles a certain type of situation or procedure routinely, or produces large quantities of an item without much regard to quality. (The notion of churning out massive amounts indiscriminately underlies the figurative metaphor.)
    • Those shysters selling the purebreds are running quite a mill over there, eh?
  10. An institution or pseudo-institutional business awarding credentials (such as diplomas, degrees, certificates, or certifications) of either dubious value or fraudulent nature; one selling essays or other documents for the buyers (usually students) to fraudulently pass off as their own.
    • Those shysters cranking out the "IT training certificates" are running quite a mill over there, eh?
  11. An engine.
    • Under the hood is a mill that you and I can't afford — a nitrous-blown hemi with custom heads.
  12. A boxing match or fistfight.
    • They were betting big on a great mill, but they didn't realize that the fix was in.
    • […] he is relieved from present responsibility to the Chicken, by the absence of that game head of poultry in the country, training (at Toots's cost) for his great mill with the Larkey Boy. - 1846 October 1 – 1848 April...
    • The mill lasted four rounds, when giddy little Ettie was declared the victress. - 1902 October 1, The Sydney Sportsman, page 5, column 6:

Origin

From Middle English mylne, mille, from Old English mylen, from Proto-West Germanic *mulīnu (“mill”), from Late Latin molīna, molīnum, molīnus (“mill”), from Latin molō (“grind, mill”, verb), closely allied to Proto-Germanic *muljaną (“to crush, grind”) (see English millstone). Perhaps cognate with Milne (a surname). Doublet of moline, moulin, and blin.

Forms

mills miln

Synonyms

factory works

Derived

abortion mill accreditation mill ant mill author mill ball mill Barker's mill bark mill blowing mill born in a mill catmill cat mill Chilean mill chop mill chopping mill coffee-mill coffee mill cog mill content mill cornmill cotton mill cryomill dark satanic mill degree mill diploma mill

Noun Entry 2

  1. One thousandth part.
    • Holonyms: cent < dollar
    • The U.S. has never minted a mill coin, but the Coinage Act of 1792 describes this and other subdivisions of the U.S. dollar.

    Related: mille

    1. One thousandth of a US dollar, or one tenth of a cent.

    2. One thousandth part in millage rates of property tax.

      • They predict that the rate will probably go up by several mills next year.

    3. (engineering, manufacturing) Alternative form of mil (“one thousandth of an inch”).

      • For this task, I prefer the plastic sheeting that is 10 mills thick.

      Synonyms: thou

    4. (informal) Clipping of millimeter.

      • For this task, I prefer the plastic bars that are 10 mills in diameter.

      Synonyms: mm

      Related: mil

Origin

Ultimately from Latin millesimum. The clipping comes by way of the clipped word, millimetre.

Forms

mills

Related

% basis point bp percent

Derived

millage per mill permille ‰ ₥

Noun Entry 3

  1. Discarding a card from one's deck.
    • he’s had some fairly infamous mills in other events. Back in 2017’s Spring Championships, he burned the crucial Archmage Antonidas - 2018 October 14, Jay Castello, “Pro Hearthstone player burns key card with perfect...
  2. A strategy centered on depleting the opponent's deck.
    • Kingsane ^([sic – meaning Kingsbane]) Rogue will forever have a negative connotation attached to it because it began as a mill deck, and mill is one of the most tilt-inducing strategies in fantasy card games. - 2018...
    • Great for mill, control, or even Voltron decks, Mnemonic Betrayal is a fantastic addition regardless of your strategy. - 2018 September 24, Collin MacGregor, “Top 10 Guilds of Ravnica Commander Cards in Magic The...

Origin

Back-formation from millstone, name of a Magic: The Gathering card with this effect (first printed 1994).

Forms

mills Mill

Derived

Mill Rogue

Noun alt of, alternative

  1. Alternative form of mil (“million”).

Origin

Clipping of million.

Forms

mill

Noun Entry 5

  1. A line of three matching pieces in nine men's morris and related games.

Forms

mills

Verb Entry 6

  1. To grind or otherwise process in a mill or other machine.
    • to mill flour
  2. To shape, polish, dress or finish using a machine.
  3. To engrave one or more grooves or a pattern around the edge of (a cylindrical object such as a coin).
  4. To move about in an aimless fashion.
    • I didn't have much to do, so I just milled around the town looking at the shops.
    • The deer and the pig and the nilghai were milling round and round in a circle of eight or ten miles radius, while the Eaters of Flesh skirmished round its edge. - 1895 November, Rudyard Kipling, The Second Jungle Book,...
    • As guests milled around them, he [Zuckerberg] described his goal of turning every person in the country with an internet connection into a Facebook user. - 2021 July 8, Sheera Frenkel, Cecilia Kang, “Mark Zuckerberg and...
  5. To cause to mill, or circle around.
    • to mill cattle
  6. To swim underwater.
  7. To swim suddenly in a new direction.
  8. To beat; to pound.
    • Ortheris said nothing for a while. Then he unslung his belt, heavy with the badges of half a dozen regiments that his own had lain with, and handed it over to Mulvaney. "I'm too little for to mill you, Mulvaney," said...
    • […]he had “milled” a policeman - 1861 January – 1862 August, W[illiam] M[akepeace] Thackeray, The Adventures of Philip on His Way through the World; […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), London: Smith, Elder...
  9. To pass through a fulling mill; to full, as cloth.
  10. To roll (steel, etc.) into bars.
  11. To make (drinking chocolate) frothy, as by churning.
  12. To undergo hulling.
    • This maize mills well.

Forms

mills milling milled

Synonyms

roam wander

Derived

free-milling millability millable mill about mill around nonmilled remill unmilled

Verb Entry 7

  1. To move (a card) from a deck to the discard pile.
  2. To destroy (a card) due to having a full hand.
    • what happens when a Quest Rogue uses Vanish and Malygos gets milled? - 2018 October 9, Ozzie Mejia, “Hearthstone: 4 decks to watch during the 2018 HCT Fall Championship”, in Shacknews:

Forms

mills milling milled Mill

Synonyms

burn

Derived

self-mill