a 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.
James, 1773–1836, English philosopher, historian, and economist, born in Scotland.
his son John Stuart, 1806–73, English philosopher and economist.
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
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
rare (usually tr) to beat (chocolate, etc)
archaic to fight, esp with the fists
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)
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
An Americanism dating back to 1780–90; short for Latin millēsimus “thousandth”; see also mil 1
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.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Instead, the mill supports the state, with 50% of its profits going to the public coffers.
From Salon ● Jul. 26, 2026
They expect its accuracy to improve as more confirmed examples of paper mill activity become available.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 16, 2026
There’s also a mill — a 40,000-square foot workshop space — a cafe, plenty of parking and quick access to area freeways.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2026
Founded as a ground wood pulp mill on the banks of Finland’s Nokianvirta River in 1865, the company evolved through rubber and cables before it became known for mobile handsets.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026
They seemed as hard and immovable as the stone walls of their mill.
From "Rowan of Rin" by Emily Rodda
Rather than send wheat to Minneapolis to be processed, incurring high transportation costs, farmers and the state banded together to form the North Dakota Mill, the only state-owned mill in the United States.
From Salon ● Jul. 26, 2026
The two-seat Cessna plane came down off Mill Lane in High Ongar, Essex, at about 12:30 BST on Tuesday.
From BBC ● Jul. 1, 2026
Craftsman’s Valley features booths where artisans show off such skills as blacksmithing or glassblowing, and the Grist Mill churns out loaves of the park’s famed cinnamon bread.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 30, 2026
An hour later, the blaze had burned 30 acres, prompting officials to urge residents living on Mill Stream Drive, Falling Star Lane, Valley View Lane and Sweet Grass Lane to leave their homes immediately.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 14, 2026
And later that day, delivery trucks arrived at Burnt Mill Creek High School.
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
“Where that bank sits now used to be an auto and truck repair and the saw mill. There was a great, big garage. That was a town hang out,” Munsell said.
From Washington Times ● May 10, 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
“Hurry! He went around the mill. Head him off. He mustn’t escape.”
From "Crispin: The Cross of Lead" by Avi
"Production and supply have deteriorated to the point where it is going to be difficult for the mills to stay open," he said, speaking anonymously because he feared retaliation.
From Barron's ● Jul. 26, 2026
A new machine learning system has flagged more than 250,000 cancer research papers that may be connected to so called "paper mills."
From Science Daily ● Jul. 16, 2026
The area never recovered from the yearslong downsizing and closing of the mills in the 1980s and 1990s.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 23, 2026
The monuments are of all types, including prehistoric burial mounds, Roman forts, early Christian carved stones and industrial mills.
From BBC ● May 13, 2026
The crowd mills around the menagerie, viewing the animals on their way to the big top.
From "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen
Hours before strikes hit Iraq's capital, crowds milled in central Baghdad to the sound not of missiles but clinking coffee cups, children laughing and women filming TikToks.
From Barron's ● Mar. 14, 2026
Volunteers urged attendees to take their seats, but they milled around, greeting old friends, hugging, shouting names across rows of white folding chairs.
From Slate ● Jan. 3, 2026
A small gathering of people milled around as auction items were read through by a woman speaking at a volume not much louder than a semiprivate conversation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 19, 2025
He remembers waking up in intensive care and wondering what the doctors and nurses would tell him about his injuries as they milled around.
From BBC ● Dec. 10, 2025
Older kids, probably student council members, stood up front modeling the Goode school uniform and looking all, Hey, we’re cool Teachers milled around, smiling and shaking hands with students.
From "The Battle of the Labyrinth" by Rick Riordan
In a damp back alley, Jingjing joined job-seekers milling about leisurely, haggling for higher wages while garment bosses perched on scooters brandished hiring signs, desperate for day labourers.
From Barron's ● May 6, 2026
"If you are not going to get as much milling wheat, then you won't get as much bread," she explained.
From BBC ● Apr. 21, 2026
Her machinery allowed households to produce meal more reliably and in greater quantities and supported the shift from subsistence hand-pounding to mechanized milling.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 9, 2026
County public defender’s office was seen milling around outside the courtroom.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 7, 2026
People are milling along the tracks, waiting for something in this poorest of poor places.
From "Beast Rider" by Tony Johnston & María Elena Fontanot de Rhoads
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
