millstone
Americannoun
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either of a pair of circular stones between which grain or another substance is ground, as in a mill.
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anything that grinds or crushes.
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any heavy mental or emotional burden (often used in the phrasea millstone around one's neck ).
noun
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one of a pair of heavy flat disc-shaped stones that are rotated one against the other to grind grain
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a heavy burden, such as a responsibility or obligation
his debts were a millstone round his neck
Etymology
Origin of millstone
before 1050; Middle English milneston, Old English mylenstān. See mill 1, stone
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
How much can it become a slight millstone if you would be the one that breaks that run?
From BBC • Feb. 20, 2026
If he did so, his quotes against divorce would be an online millstone around his neck.
From Salon • Nov. 26, 2025
“As the only sector to record a negative return in Q3, staples was the proverbial millstone around quality’s neck.”
From Barron's • Oct. 27, 2025
"It's a real millstone - everything you are doing is subject to scrutiny," said John Reed Stark, a former chief of the SEC's Office of Internet Enforcement.
From Reuters • Nov. 24, 2023
She felt the weight of it like a millstone around her neck, dragging her down.
From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield
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.
