millstone
mill·stone/ˈmɪlˌstoʊn/noun
millstone is spelled M-I-L-L-S-T-O-N-E: 9 letters and 2 syllables (mill·stone). It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 45,363rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, millstone means “A large round stone used for grinding grain” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of millstone is millstones.
How many letters and syllables are in millstone?
| Letters | 9: M-I-L-L-S-T-O-N-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: mill·stone |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 45,363rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is millstone?
Millstone appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 45,363rd 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 millstone?
- UK /ˈmɪlstəʊn/
- US /ˈmɪlˌstoʊn/
Millstone has 2 syllables, split mill·stone in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-au-millstone.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with millstone
Also written: mill-stone (one word or two).
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of millstone
- millstones plural
- mill-stone
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does millstone mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A large round stone used for grinding grain.
- 2
A coarse-grained sandstone used for making such stones; millstone grit.
- 3
Ellipsis of millstone around one's neck, a heavy responsibility that is difficult to bear (referring to Matthew 18:6 in the Bible).
Paying the mortgage every month is a millstone round their necks.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Millstone in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
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 millstone come from?
From Middle English mylneston, milneston, from Old English mylenstān (“millstone”), from Proto-West Germanic *mulīnu + *stain; equivalent to mill + stone; cognate with Danish møllesten, Middle Dutch molensteen (modern Dutch molensteen), West Frisian molestien, Norwegian Bokmål møllestein, Old Saxon mulinstēn (Middle Low German mȫlenstēn), Old High German mulinstein, mülstein (Middle High German mülstein, modern German Mühlstein).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).