Pronunciations (4)
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/mɪl/
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[mɪɫ]
Pronunciation notes
- Received-Pronunciation
- US
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[mɪo̯]
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[mɪʊ̯]
Noun
A grinding apparatus for substances such as grains, seeds, etc. (Some are small and simple, and some are large and complex.)
- Examples
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Pepper has a stronger flavor when it is ground straight from a mill.
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.
- Examples
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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.
More examples (3)
On Sept. 9 a boiler exploded in Hanke's flouring mill, […]
Under the reorganization the branch mill was designated as Dah Sun Mill No. 2. In subsequent years Chang Chien had ambitious plans for further expansion. Eventually four Dah Sun mills were established, two in Nan-t'ung and one each in Ch'ung-ming and Hai-men, although plans for the founding of mills in Ju-kao, Tung-t'ai, Yen-ch'eng, and elsewhere in Kiangsu were never realized.
That first batch of yarn set the pattern for Knudsen Knits: Farah seeks out local wool growers, selects fleeces, and works with small local mills to produce yarn.
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.
- Examples
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a cider mill; a cane mill
A machine for grinding and polishing.
- Examples
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a lapidary mill
A milling machine for machining of solid metal, wood, or plastic.
- Broader terms
- Examples
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Several machinists were busy operating the lathes, mills, and drill presses on the shop floor.
A milling cutter used on such a machine.
- Examples
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After the drilling and tapping operations, we come in with a mill and do some contouring.
A manufacturing plant for paper, steel, textiles, flooring, and some other kinds of materials.
- Examples
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Once the billet gets through the 56-inch mill, it is ready for reheating.
The building complex housing such a plant; the place of business comprising such buildings and their grounds.
- Examples
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My grandfather worked in a mill. He operated machinery, did maintenance, and drove forklifts.
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.)
Usage- Derogatory
- Figurative
- usually
- Examples
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Those shysters selling the purebreds are running quite a mill over there, eh?
Getting the book through the editorial mill could take months.
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.
Usage- Derogatory
- Figurative
- Examples
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Those shysters cranking out the "IT training certificates" are running quite a mill over there, eh?
An engine.
Usage- Informal
- Examples
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Under the hood is a mill that you and I can't afford — a nitrous-blown hemi with custom heads.
A boxing match or fistfight.
Usage- Archaic
- Informal
- Examples
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They were betting big on a great mill, but they didn't realize that the fix was in.
More examples (1)
[…] 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.
The mill lasted four rounds, when giddy little Ettie was declared the victress.
More examples (1)
The name of the "white hope" against whom Billy was to go was sufficient to draw a fair house, and there were some there who had seen Billy in other fights and looked for a good mill.
A hardened steel roller with a design in relief, used for imprinting a reversed copy of the design in a softer metal, such as copper.
An excavation in rock, transverse to the workings, from which material for filling is obtained.
- Examples
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They pulled me off the main crew and had me digging in the mill.
A passage underground through which ore is shot.
- Synonyms
- Examples
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Near-synonym: country
The geologists were responsible for keeping the work within the mill.
The raised or ridged edge or surface made in milling anything, such as a coin or screw.
- Synonyms
A prison treadmill.
Usage- Historical
- Examples
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They kept us in line by threatening to put us on the mill twice as long if we complained.
More examples (1)
Next morning they put me on the treadmill along with the others: At first, not knowing how to dance it, I cut all my shin with the steps; they did not flog me then — […] They keep on putting her on the mill for a week, and flog her every time […]
A military prison, either guardhouse or post prison.
Usage- US usage
- World-War-I
- Slang
- Examples
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He spent some time in the mill after that escapade.
A delousing station: a cootie mill.
Usage- World-War-I
- Slang
A typewriter used to transcribe messages received.
- Examples
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More examples (1)
In other words, get a mill in your operating position by hook or crook and use it regularly. At the N.C.R. Radio Schools touch typing is taught at the same time code proficiency is advanced.
You can read it all right, but the pencil seems to be getting a little sluggish — better make a grab for a "mill."
Verb
To grind or otherwise process in a mill or other machine.
Usage- Transitive
- Examples
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to mill flour
To shape, polish, dress or finish using a machine.
Usage- Transitive
To engrave one or more grooves or a pattern around the edge of (a cylindrical object such as a coin).
Usage- Transitive
To move about in an aimless fashion.
Usage- Intransitive
- usually
- followed by around
- Examples
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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.
More examples (1)
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.
To cause to mill, or circle around.
Usage- Transitive
- Examples
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to mill cattle
To swim underwater.
Usage- of air-breathing creatures
To swim suddenly in a new direction.
Usage- of a whale
To beat; to pound.
Usage- Slang
- Transitive
- Examples
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More examples (1)
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, "an' you've strook me before; but you can take an' cut me in two with this 'ere if you like."
[…]he had “milled” a policeman
To pass through a fulling mill; to full, as cloth.
To roll (steel, etc.) into bars.
Usage- Transitive
To make (drinking chocolate) frothy, as by churning.
Usage- Transitive
To undergo hulling.
Usage- Intransitive
- Examples
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This maize mills well.
To take part in a fistfight; to box.
Usage- Intransitive
- Slang
To fill (a winze or interior incline) with broken ore, to be drawn out at the bottom.
Usage- Transitive
To commit burglary.
Usage- UK usage
- Obsolete
- Examples
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More examples (2)
Ben mort, shall you and I heave a bough, mill a ken, or nip a bung, and then we'll couch a hogshead under the ruffmans, and there you shall wap with me, and I'll niggle with you.
And why not?—You would think little of peaching and hanging him for this Scotch affair.—Rat me, one might have milled the Bank of England, and less noise about it.
Noun
One thousandth part. One thousandth of a US dollar, one-hundredth of a dime or one-tenth of a cent.
- Synonyms
- Examples
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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.
One thousandth part. One thousandth part in millage rates of property tax.
- Synonyms
- Examples
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They predict that the rate will probably go up by several mills next year.
Noun
A line of three matching pieces in nine men's morris and related games.
Verb
To move (a card) from a deck to the discard pile.
Usage- Transitive
To destroy (a card) due to having a full hand.
Usage- Transitive
- Examples
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what happens when a Quest Rogue uses Vanish and Malygos gets milled?
Noun
Discarding a card from one's deck.
Usage- Countable
- Uncountable
- Examples
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he’s had some fairly infamous mills in other events. Back in 2017’s Spring Championships, he burned the crucial Archmage Antonidas
A strategy centered on depleting the opponent's deck.
Usage- Countable
- Uncountable
- Examples
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More examples (1)
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.
Great for mill, control, or even Voltron decks, Mnemonic Betrayal is a fantastic addition regardless of your strategy.
Noun
a plant consisting of one or more buildings with facilities for manufacturing
- Broader terms
machinery that processes materials by grinding or crushing
- Synonyms
- Broader terms
the act of grinding to a powder or dust
- Synonyms
- Broader terms
Verb
move about in a confused manner
- Synonyms
- Broader terms
grind with a mill
- Examples
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mill grain
produce a ridge around the edge of
- Broader terms
- Examples
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mill a coin
roll out (metal) with a rolling machine