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• mill
  mill

  noun

  a factory for certain kinds of manufacture, as paper, steel, or textiles.
• Mill
  Mill

  noun

  James, 1773–1836, English philosopher, historian, and economist, born in Scotland.
• mill.
  mill.

  abbreviation

  million.

mill

¹ American  

[mil] / mɪl /

noun

1. a factory for certain kinds of manufacture, as paper, steel, or textiles.

2. a building equipped with machinery for grinding grain into flour and other cereal products.

3. a machine for grinding, crushing, or pulverizing any solid substance.

   a coffee mill.

4. any of various machines that modify the shape or size of a workpiece by rotating tools or the work.

   rolling mill.

5. any of various other apparatuses for shaping materials or performing other mechanical operations.

6. 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.

7. Machinery. a cutter on a milling machine.

8. a steel roller for receiving and transferring an impressed design, as to a calico-printing cylinder or a banknote-printing plate.

9. Mining. a place or set of machinery for crushing or concentrating ore.

10. Slang. a boxing match or fistfight.

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verb (used with object)

• mills,
  present (3rd person singular)
• milled,
  past participle,  past
• milling
  present participle

1. to grind, work, treat, or shape in or with a mill.

2. Coining.

   1. to make a raised edge on (a coin or the like).

   2. to make narrow, radial grooves on the raised edge of (a coin or the like).

3. to beat or stir, as to a froth.

   to mill chocolate.

4. Slang. to beat or strike; fight; overcome.

verb (used without object)

• mills,
  present (3rd person singular)
• milled,
  past participle,  past
• milling
  present participle

1. to move around aimlessly, slowly, or confusedly, as a herd of cattle (often followed by about oraround ).

   Synonyms:

   wander, roam, throng, swarm, crowd

2. Slang. to fight or box.

idioms

1. through the mill, 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.

mill ² American  

[mil] / mɪl /

noun

1. 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.

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Mill ³ American  

[mil] / mɪl /

noun

1. James, 1773–1836, English philosopher, historian, and economist, born in Scotland.

2. his son John Stuart, 1806–73, English philosopher and economist.

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mill. ⁴ American  

abbreviation

1. million.

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mill ¹ British  

/ mɪl /

noun

1. a building in which grain is crushed and ground to make flour

2. a factory, esp one which processes raw materials

   a steel mill

3. any of various processing or manufacturing machines, esp one that grinds, presses, or rolls

4. any of various small hand mills used for grinding pepper, salt, or coffee for domestic purposes See also coffee mill pepper mill

5. a hard roller for impressing a design, esp in a textile-printing machine or in a machine for printing banknotes

6. a system, institution, etc, that influences people or things in the manner of a factory

   going through the educational mill

7. an unpleasant experience; ordeal (esp in the phrases go or be put through the mill )

8. a fist fight

9. ordinary or routine

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verb

1. (tr) to grind, press, or pulverize in or as if in a mill

2. (tr) to process or produce in or with a mill

3. to cut or roll (metal) with or as if with a milling machine

4. (tr) to groove or flute the edge of (a coin)

5. (intr; often foll by about or around) to move about in a confused manner

6. rare (usually tr) to beat (chocolate, etc)

7. archaic to fight, esp with the fists

Mill ² British  

/ mɪl /

noun

1. 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)

2. 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)

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mill ³ British  

/ mɪl /

noun

1. a US and Canadian monetary unit used in calculations, esp for property taxes, equal to one thousandth of a dollar

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mill More Idioms  

1. see grist for the mill; mills of the gods grind slowly; run of the mill; through the mill; tilt at windmills.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• millable
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• milling
  present
• milled
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• mill
  simple
• mills
  simple
• have milled
  perfect
• has milled
  perfect
• am milling
  progressive
• are milling
  progressive
• is milling
  progressive
• have been milling
  perfect progressive
• has been milling
  perfect progressive

Past

• milled
  simple
• had milled
  perfect
• was milling
  progressive
• were milling
  progressive
• had been milling
  perfect progressive

Future

• will mill
  simple
• will have milled
  perfect
• will be milling
  progressive
• will have been milling
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of mill¹

First recorded before 950; Middle English noun miln(e), mille(n) “building for grinding grain,” Old English myl(e)n “(water) mill,” from Late Latin molīna, noun use of feminine of molīnus “of a mill,” equivalent to Latin mol(a) “mill” + -īnus -ine ¹

Origin of mill²

An Americanism dating back to 1780–90; short for Latin millēsimus “thousandth”; see also mil ¹

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Explanation

A mill is a factory or plant, especially one that's equipped for grinding grain into flour. The facility is a mill, and the machine that does the actual grinding is also called a mill. When a mill crushes and grinds grain like wheat or corn, you can say it mills flour. Other kinds of mills might mill powder or coffee — and still other mills don't actually grind anything; instead, they manufacture things like steel or paper. If someone "mills around," they wander or move about in a confused way: "The crowd mills around during the concert's intermission." This sense of mill was originally used to describe cattle.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

mill Mill mill. mills milled milling

Any reaction or any impact on you — financial or emotional — is grist for the mill.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 27, 2026

The consortium shared data as run of the mill as spambots as well as more serious threats.

From Salon ● Oct. 26, 2026

A hot strip mill makes steel slabs into thin coils used to manufacture products like vehicles, appliances and construction materials.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2026

This massive steel mill in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, fell silent in the 1990s.

From Barron's ● Oct. 19, 2026

“Seems funny to see the paper mill closed,” the pilot said and then added, “With no electricity, the whole county is closed.”

From "Earthquake Terror" by Peg Kehret

In 1987 I set out one morning from Duke University on my 160-mile pilgrimage to the Bakkers’ “Christian Disneyland” in Fort Mill, S.C.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026

Wright, an American architect known for his innovative designs such as Fallingwater in Mill Run, PA, and the Guggenheim Museum in Manhattan, designed homes that fit into their surroundings.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 9, 2026

In December 2025, the BBC revealed a site off Mill Lane was under investigation for illegal waste dumping.

From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2026

East Tennessee's water-powered Old Mill first began grinding cornmeal back in 1830 in the deep Appalachian region along the Little Pigeon River.

From Barron's ● Sep. 3, 2026

His family lived in Burnt Mill Creek, and when I enrolled in grade five, my family, which consisted at that time of my father and pregnant stepmother had just moved to San Francisquito Canyon.

From "100 Sideways Miles" by Andrew Smith

"My boy is only 28, he's in the cold mill. And it is a worry about where they'll get jobs going forward."

From BBC ● Jan. 23, 2024

“Everybody’s run that thing through the mill. I’ll let other people talk about those issues. I want to talk about issues that matter to taxpayers and voters.”

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 18, 2021

“Thank you, steel mill. And thank you, chemical processing industry that gave us time to read books.”

From New York Times ● Feb. 9, 2017

“Everything you did in this community, you did right here at the mill. Everything was here. That was your life,” Jones said.

From Washington Times ● Jul. 13, 2015

“I really hope it’s an abandoned hosiery mill. Oh! Or maybe a raccoon-infested bus station!”

From "We'll Fly Away" by Bryan Bliss

For two centuries, Canadian mills near Maine have processed vast amounts of its timber.

From Barron's ● Oct. 26, 2026

Earnings in the steel mills and steel products segments are expected to be stable, with an expected slight decrease in earnings from the raw materials segment.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 26, 2026

Ryzhenkov said the company had "improved the covered areas" at its mills where workers can shelter during air raids.

From BBC ● Oct. 18, 2026

Protecting workers on the fishing vessels that supply feed mills is, however, an “immense challenge,” Meserve added, because audits occur at port.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026

Then the steel mills and factories closed and everybody left, like rats.

From "Seedfolks" by Paul Fleischman

She also sells freshly milled ancient grain flour and other traditionally produced Italian foods through her company, Healthy Journey Through Food.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 8, 2026

A further 29.8 million tonnes of rice is expected to be added once paddy already procured from farmers is milled.

From BBC ● Jul. 1, 2026

One of the artists, 13-year-old Yoselin Pacheco Ruiz, seemed particularly pleased as students and adults milled about.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 27, 2026

People milled around Havana's city center, checking their phones after the tremor which according to Cuban authorities was felt "throughout the entire west of the country."

From Barron's ● Jun. 8, 2026

In the fading twilight, a thousand people, perhaps more, milled around talking and laughing.

From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson

The bond financiers milling around the IMF meetings seem to be taking another look at the UK after years of crisis.

From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2026

Heavily processed milling strips away bran, germ and other nutrients, and while federal law requires such flour to be enriched, the end product still lacks key vitamins, minerals and anti-oxidants.

From Barron's ● Sep. 3, 2026

That approach can restrict the complexity of possible designs and carries a risk of micro-cracking during milling or sintering.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 23, 2026

In addition to the extra security guards milling about, many of the areas that were formerly open to the public were closed off by fences and guarded exits.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 26, 2026

That was impossible: there were hundreds of Redcoats milling around on the training ground—maybe thousands, even.

From "My Brother Sam is Dead" by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier

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