Mill Meaning

/mɪl/
B1

Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.

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nounA grinding apparatus for substances such as grains, seeds, etc. (Some are small and simple, and some are large and complex.)

nounThe 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.

There was a water mill below the dam.
There is a water mill above the bridge.
The old mill has been converted into apartments.
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
The farmer took his wheat to the old ____ to be ground into flour.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The old wooden water ____ by the river used to grind wheat into flour for all the farmers living in the surrounding valley.

From Middle English mylne, mille, from Old English mylen, from Proto-West Germanic *mulīnu (“mill”), from Late Latin molīna, molīnum, molīnus (“mill”), from Latin molō (“grind, mill”, verb), closely allied to Proto-Germanic *muljaną (“to crush, grind”) (see English millstone). Perhaps cognate with Milne (a surname). Doublet of moline, moulin, and blin.

"[…] 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." — 1843 April, Thomas Carlyle, chapter XV, in Past and Present, American edition, Boston, Mass.: Charles C[offin] Little and James Brown, published 1843, →OCLC, book II (The Ancient Monk), page 112:
"On Sept. 9 a boiler exploded in Hanke's flouring mill, […]" — 1880 January 1, The Locomotive, volume 1, number 1, Hartford, Conn.: The Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection And Insurance Company, page 9:
"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." — 1965, Samuel C. Chu, Reformer in Mondern China Chang Chien, 1853-1926, Columbia University Press, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 31:
"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." — 2026, Sandi Rosner, “Knudsen Knits: Sourcing & Milling Local Heritage-Breed Wool”, in Spin Off, volume L, number 1, page 39:
"[…] 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." — 1846 October 1 – 1848 April 1, Charles Dickens, Dombey and Son, London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1848, →OCLC:

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CEFR Practice Quiz
The farmer took his wheat to the old ____ to be ground into flour.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The old wooden water ____ by the river used to grind wheat into flour for all the farmers living in the surrounding valley.

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