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View synonyms for mug

mug

[ muhg ]

noun

  1. a drinking cup, usually cylindrical in shape, having a handle, and often of a heavy substance, as earthenware.
  2. the quantity it holds.
  3. Slang.
    1. the face.
    2. the mouth.
    3. an exaggerated facial expression; grimace, as in acting.
    4. a thug, ruffian, or other criminal.
  4. British Slang. a gullible person; dupe; fool.


verb (used with object)

, mugged, mug·ging.
  1. to assault or menace, especially with the intention of robbery.
  2. Slang. to photograph (a person), especially in compliance with an official or legal requirement.

verb (used without object)

, mugged, mug·ging.
  1. Slang. to grimace; exaggerate a facial expression, as in acting.

mug

1

/ mʌɡ /

noun

  1. slang.
    a person's face or mouth

    get your ugly mug out of here!

  2. slang.
    a grimace
  3. slang.
    a gullible person, esp one who is swindled easily
  4. a mug's game
    a worthless activity
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

  1. informal.
    tr to attack or rob (someone) violently
  2. slang.
    intr to pull faces or overact, esp in front of a camera
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

mug

2

/ mʌɡ /

noun

  1. a drinking vessel with a handle, usually cylindrical and made of earthenware
  2. Also calledmugful the quantity held by a mug or its contents
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Word History and Origins

Origin of mug1

First recorded in 1560–70; probably from Scandinavian; compare Swedish mugg, Norwegian, Danish mugge “drinking cup”; sense “face” apparently transferred from cups adorned with grotesque faces; sense “to assault” from earlier pugilistic slang “to strike in the face, fight”
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Word History and Origins

Origin of mug1

C18: perhaps from mug 1, since drinking vessels were sometimes modelled into the likeness of a face

Origin of mug2

C16: probably from Scandinavian; compare Swedish mugg
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Example Sentences

Her resignation comes a day after she admitted that she told police she had lost her phone during a mugging on a night out but later found it had not been taken.

From BBC

He even relishes the schoolyard nickname Trump gave him — “Old Crow” — doling out bottles of the Kentucky bourbon with his mug on the label.

You can also now do all your Christmas shopping via Trump campaign emails: Trump hats, Trump t-shirts, Trump coffee mugs and Christmas ornaments.

From Salon

"The second week, it went quiet for two days and then he popped back up and said that he'd been mugged and he'd been shot in the leg. He’d been taken to hospital."

From BBC

Alongside packets from long-gone brands such as Tudor Crisps, he has limited edition mugs, a crisp advent calendar and a Walkers jacket.

From BBC

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