: not outstanding in quality or rarity : average, ordinary

Examples of run-of-the-mill in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Dark Matter could seem like run-of-the-mill prestige TV—adapted from a bestselling book (by Blake Crouch), noir-ish in look and tone—except its cut-above cast raises the stakes. Vogue, 21 Mar. 2024 Its sound design is cacophonous, emphasizing every footstep, breath and gunshot to a disorienting degree, despite being rooted in the POV of characters whose hearing, and whose relationship to atmospheric sound, is ostensibly run-of-the-mill. Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 20 Mar. 2024 Buying a bottle of premade sauce, dumping it in a pan with a few other run-of-the-mill ingredients, and calling it a day is the easiest and most cost-effective way to solve all of the above. Hannah Dylan Pasternak, SELF, 13 Mar. 2024 There’s a difference, of course, between the kind of fame experienced by members of the royal family and run-of-the-mill celebrity fame or political notoriety. Robin Givhan, Washington Post, 12 Mar. 2024 That's a kind of fraudulent misrepresentation that's far beyond any of the more run-of-the-mill political twisting of words. Taylor Wilson, USA TODAY, 11 Mar. 2024 What Is a Tea Towel? Unlike your run-of-the-mill, super-absorbent bath or hand towels, tea towels are generally flat-woven from linen or cotton. Betsy Cribb Watson, Southern Living, 26 Feb. 2024 This revolutionary idea challenged the prevailing scientific view of the brain as the seat of higher thought and emotion, and not as a run-of-the-mill endocrine gland. Eryn Brown, Washington Post, 23 Feb. 2024 Lopez is also given advice by a group of friends, ordinary, run-of-the-mill mortals who show up from time to time. Tom Gliatto, Peoplemag, 16 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'run-of-the-mill.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1919, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of run-of-the-mill was in 1919

Dictionary Entries Near run-of-the-mill

Cite this Entry

“Run-of-the-mill.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/run-of-the-mill. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

run-of-the-mill

adjective
ˌrən-ə(v)-t͟hə-ˈmil
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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