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.
In a 2013 interview with the Journal, he said: “In some ways it’s a millstone. I’ve gone on to evolve and change, yet people still identify me with that material.”
How much can it become a slight millstone if you would be the one that breaks that run?
From BBC
"She probably thought she was leaving something to her offspring, only to find that it's become a millstone," says Taylor.
From BBC
But climates shift, and while “invented heritage” can act as a powerful anchor, it can also be a millstone, an obstacle to necessary, large-scale changes.
From Salon
If he did so, his quotes against divorce would be an online millstone around his neck.
From Salon
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.
