What does "millstone" mean?
A large round stone used for grinding grain.
Millstone
/ˈmɪlstəʊn/ name, noun
name, noun ·Moderate ·College level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A large round stone used for grinding grain.
- Grammar: millstone is listed as name, noun.
- Nearest alternatives: albatross, bale, burden, burden.
- Useful contrasts: advantage, assistance, benefit.
- Usage evidence: Between the upper and nether millstone.
How to use "millstone"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "millstone" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "millstone" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "millstone" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "millstone" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "millstone" is acting as name, noun in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "albatross" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "millstone", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A large round stone used for grinding grain.
"As it is the circular Motion of the Mill-ſtone which brings the Corn out of the Hopper by Jerks, and with a Velocity depending upon that of the Stone, other Grains are always ſucceeding, which raiſe it anew, and the Flower just made being no longer preſs'd is carry'd away into the Boulting Mill by the Circulation of Air that the Mill-ſtone puts into motion, which makes a whirling there."
- 2 one of a pair of heavy flat disk-shaped stones that are rotated against one another to grind the grain wordnet
- 3 A coarse-grained sandstone used for making such stones; millstone grit.
"In North America the millstone grit, and a grey sandy and slaty rock beneath it, occur three times; and it is exceedingly difficult to distinguish these rocks in hand specimens, without the aid of organized remains. And remains are almost exclusively confined to the grey rocks. Common quarrymen, farmers, and foreign geologists, apply the names, greywracke and millstone, to all these rocks promiscuously; neither having observed their different relative positions."
- 4 any load that is difficult to carry wordnet
- 5 Ellipsis of millstone around one's neck, a heavy responsibility that is difficult to bear (referring to Matthew 18:6 in the Bible). abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis, figuratively
"Paying the mortgage every month is a millstone round their necks."
Show 1 more definition
- 6 (figurative) something that hinders or handicaps wordnet
Proper Noun
- 1 A nuclear power station near Waterford, Connecticut, USA.
- 2 An unincorporated community in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States.
- 3 A township in Monmouth County, New Jersey.
- 4 A borough in Somerset County, New Jersey.
- 5 A tributary of the Raritan River in New Jersey; in full, the Millstone River.
Antonyms
Example
"Between the upper and nether millstone."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "millstone"?
Common synonyms include: albatross, bale, burden, burden, burdening, burthen.
How do you use "millstone" in a sentence?
Between the upper and nether millstone.
How do you pronounce "millstone"?
Pronounced /ˈmɪlstəʊn/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
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).
Etymology 2
From millstone, mill + stone.
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