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mill

[mɪɫ]noun, verb

mill is spelled M-I-L-L: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 24 times per million words in written English, the 3,752nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “mil vs mill” about 20 times a month (Google, United States). As a noun, mill means “A grinding apparatus for substances such as grains, seeds, etc. (Some are small and simple, and some are large and complex.)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of mill is mills.

How many letters and syllables are in mill?

Letters4: M-I-L-L
Syllables1 (from its American pronunciation)
In writing24 times per million words; the 3,752nd most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Pairs people search
Sounds like

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026).

How common is mill?

Mill appears 24 times per million words in written English, the 3,752nd most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce mill?

  • /mɪl/
  • US [mɪɫ]
  • [mɪo̯]

Mill has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-mill.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Words people confuse with mill

Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).

mil vs mill20 G

Sounds like: mil (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).

Also written: mil, mille.

Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).

Forms of mill

  • mills plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • milling participle, present
  • milled participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does mill mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

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

    Pepper has a stronger flavor when it is ground straight from a mill.

  2. 2

    The 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.

    My great-grandfather worked in a mill. He filled the flour sacks and then carried and loaded them.

  3. 3

    A machine used for expelling the juice, sap, etc., from vegetable tissues by pressure, or by pressure in combination with a grinding, or cutting process; any similar apparatus that otherwise processes.

    a cider mill; a cane mill

  4. 4

    A machine for grinding and polishing.

    a lapidary mill

  5. 5

    A milling machine for machining of solid metal, wood, or plastic.

    Several machinists were busy operating the lathes, mills, and drill presses on the shop floor.

  6. 6

    A milling cutter used on such a machine.

    After the drilling and tapping operations, we come in with a mill and do some contouring.

  7. 7

    A manufacturing plant for paper, steel, textiles, flooring, and some other kinds of materials.

    Once the billet gets through the 56-inch mill, it is ready for reheating.

  8. 8

    The building complex housing such a plant; the place of business comprising such buildings and their grounds.

    My grandfather worked in a mill. He operated machinery, did maintenance, and drove forklifts.

  9. 9

    One thousandth of a US dollar, one-hundredth of a dime or one-tenth of a cent.

    Holonyms: cent < dollar

  10. 10

    One thousandth part in millage rates of property tax.

    They predict that the rate will probably go up by several mills next year.

  11. 11

    Alternative form of mil (“one thousandth of an inch”).

    For this task, I prefer the plastic sheeting that is 10 mills thick.

  12. 12

    informalClipping of millimeter.

    For this task, I prefer the plastic bars that are 10 mills in diameter.

  13. 13

    A line of three matching pieces in nine men's morris and related games.

  14. 14

    Discarding a card from one's deck.

  15. 15

    A strategy centered on depleting the opponent's deck.

  16. 16

    informalAlternative form of mil (“million”).

verb

  1. 1

    To grind or otherwise process in a mill or other machine.

    to mill flour

  2. 2

    To shape, polish, dress or finish using a machine.

  3. 3

    To engrave one or more grooves or a pattern around the edge of (a cylindrical object such as a coin).

  4. 4

    To move about in an aimless fashion.

    I didn't have much to do, so I just milled around the town looking at the shops.

  5. 5

    To cause to mill, or circle around.

    to mill cattle

  6. 6

    To swim underwater.

  7. 7

    To swim suddenly in a new direction.

  8. 8

    slangTo beat; to pound.

  9. 9

    To move (a card) from a deck to the discard pile.

  10. 10

    To destroy (a card) due to having a full hand.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Mill in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchmoulin (grinding apparatus), fraiseuse (machine for grinding and polishing), manufacture, usine, fabrique (manufacturing plant), moudre (grind or process using a mill or other machine)
GermanMühle, Mahlwerk (grinding apparatus), Fabrik, Werk n Papiermühle (manufacturing plant), mahlen (grind or process using a mill or other machine)
Portuguesemoenda, moinho (grinding apparatus), fábrica, manufatura (manufacturing plant), moer (grind or process using a mill or other machine), fresar (shape, polish, etc, using a machine)
Spanishmolino (grinding apparatus), fábrica (manufacturing plant), moler (grind or process using a mill or other machine), pulir, fresar (shape, polish, etc, using a machine), vagar (move about in an aimless fashion)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does mill come from?

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.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after mill