millstone
noun
mill·stone
| \ ˈmil-ˌstōn
\
\
Definition of millstone
1
: either of two circular stones used for grinding something (such as grain)
2a
: something that grinds or crushes
b
: a heavy burden
Examples of millstone in a Sentence
College loans can quickly become a millstone for students.
The scandal has become a political millstone.
The scandal has been a millstone around her neck.
See More
Recent Examples on the Web
Liverpool lifted a huge millstone of pressure from their necks with their Champions League success. — SI.com, "Simon Mignolet: Why Liverpool Seriously Need to Upgrade Their Number Two Keeper," 28 July 2019 The dual millstone of a sluggish offense and a wobbly rotation has continued into June. — Andy Mccullough, latimes.com, "Paul Goldschmidt’s struggles mirror those of the Cardinals," 22 June 2019 That should reassure investors concerned that Shell’s big refining division is a millstone when oil prices are high. — Nathaniel Taplin, WSJ, "Shell Needs to Produce Energy, Not Just Cash," 1 Nov. 2018 The McQueen show has become a little bit of an albatross in a way, a bit of a millstone around my neck. — Eliza Brooke, Vox, "A fashion exhibit just became the Met museum’s most popular show ever. Here’s why.," 12 Oct. 2018 And while Trump is generally unpopular, his 44 percent job approval rating isn’t quite the millstone that’s dragging down some of Walker’s Republican counterparts in other states. — Chris Stirewalt, Fox News, "Fox News Power Rankings: Hello, Wisconsin," 12 July 2018 During the earliest phase, radiocarbon-dated to around 2300 B.C.E., the pits were filled with broken bits of ceramic drinking vessels, stone axs, millstones, and butchered animal bones. — Michael Price, Science | AAAS, "Rituals performed at this German ‘Stonehenge’ may link mysterious monument to its U.K. counterpart," 28 June 2018 The remainder of the items, buried in a similar fashion between 2200 B.C.E. and 2000 B.C.E., included more millstones, grinding stones, and animal bones, along with a handful of disembodied human bones. — Michael Price, Science | AAAS, "Rituals performed at this German ‘Stonehenge’ may link mysterious monument to its U.K. counterpart," 28 June 2018 County workers have attempted to preserve some historic artifacts from the area, said Miller, including the slate stone steps that had been outside many buildings and some historic millstones. — Christina Tkacik, baltimoresun.com, "Ellicott City begins the great 'muck out' — again," 3 June 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'millstone.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Keep scrolling for more
Keep scrolling for more
More Definitions for millstone
millstone
noun
English Language Learners Definition of millstone
: either one of two large, flat, round stones that are used for grinding grain in a mill
: a problem or responsibility that does not go away and that makes it difficult or impossible to do or achieve something
See the full definition for millstone in the English Language Learners Dictionary
millstone
noun
mill·stone
| \ ˈmil-ˌstōn
\
\
Kids Definition of millstone
: either of two large circular stones used for grinding grain
Keep scrolling for more