Grinder vs. Mill: Know the Difference
By Shumaila Saeed || Updated on December 25, 2023
A grinder is a device for breaking down materials into smaller pieces, whereas a mill is a facility for grinding grain into flour.
Key Differences
Grinders are typically used to break down materials into finer particles or powders. Mills, however, are primarily used for grinding grain into flour, often using large grinding stones or mechanisms.
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Nov 14, 2023
Grinders are usually smaller, handheld devices used in kitchens or workshops. Mills are larger structures, often part of industrial or agricultural processes, used for bulk grain processing.
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Nov 14, 2023
There are various types of grinders, including coffee grinders, spice grinders, and angle grinders for metalwork. Mills include grain mills, sawmills, and windmills, each designed for specific tasks.
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Grinders have a long history in culinary and craft applications. Mills, historically, have been integral to agricultural societies for processing grain and have evolved into various forms like windmills and watermills.
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Grinders are versatile and can handle a range of materials, from coffee beans to concrete. Mills are more specialized, usually processing grain, lumber, or other specific raw materials.
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Nov 14, 2023
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Comparison Chart
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Grinder and Mill Definitions
Grinder
A machine for crushing or grinding substances.
She used a grinder to pulverize the spices.
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Nov 14, 2023
Mill
A building equipped with machinery for grinding grain into flour or meal.
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Oct 19, 2023
Grinder
A device in dentistry for grinding down teeth.
The dentist used a grinder to reshape the tooth.
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Nov 14, 2023
Grinder
A handheld tool for grinding metal or other materials.
He used an angle grinder to smooth the metal surface.
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Nov 14, 2023
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Mill
A building or farm equipped with machinery that presses or grinds fruit to extract the juice
A cider mill.
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Oct 19, 2023
Grinder
An electrical appliance for grinding coffee.
Their coffee grinder delivers perfectly ground beans every morning.
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Nov 14, 2023
Mill
A machine or device that reduces a solid or coarse substance into pulp or minute grains by crushing, grinding, or pressing
A pepper mill.
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Oct 19, 2023
Mill
A building or group of buildings equipped with machinery for processing raw materials into finished or industrial products
A textile mill.
A steel mill.
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Mill
A machine, such as one for stamping coins, that produces something by the repetition of a simple process.
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Mill
A steel roller bearing a raised design, used for making a die or a printing plate by pressure.
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Mill
Any of various machines for shaping, cutting, polishing, or dressing metal surfaces.
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Mill
A process, agency, or institution that operates in a mechanical way or turns out products in the manner of a factory
The college was nothing more than a diploma mill.
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Oct 19, 2023
Mill
A business that breeds and sells animals, such as purebred puppies, often in substandard conditions. Often used in combination
A puppy mill.
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Mill
A difficult or laborious series of experiences
Went through the mill trying to get approval to build an addition onto the house.
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Grinder
A power tool with a spinning abrasive disc, used for grinding, smoothing, and shaping materials, usually metal.
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Grinder
A sandwich made on a long, cylindrical roll.
I am going to the deli to get a grinder for lunch.
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Mill
To grind, pulverize, or break down into smaller particles in a mill
Mill grain.
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Grinder
A kitchen gadget for processing coffee, herbs etc. into small or powdered pieces.
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Grinder
The restless flycatcher (Myiagra inquieta) of Australia, which makes a noise like a scissors grinder.
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Mill
To cut, shape, or finish in a mill or with a milling tool
Logs that are milled for lumber.
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Grinder
(slang) A biohacker who uses cybernetic implants or biochemicals to enhance or change their own body.
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Mill
Western US To cause (cattle) to move in a circle or tightening spiral in order to stop a stampede.
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Mill
To move around in churning confusion
"A crowd of school children milled about on the curb looking scared" (Anne Tyler).
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Mill
A grinding apparatus for substances such as grains, seeds, etc.
Pepper mill
Pepper has a stronger flavor when it is ground straight from a mill.
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Mill
The building housing such a grinding apparatus.
My grandfather worked in a mill.
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Mill
A machine used for expelling the juice, sap, etc., from vegetable tissues by pressure, or by pressure in combination with a grinding, or cutting process.
A cider mill; a cane mill
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Grinder
One of the double teeth, used to grind or masticate the food; a molar.
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Oct 19, 2023
Grinder
The restless flycatcher (Seisura inquieta) of Australia; - called also restless thrush and volatile thrush. It makes a noise like a scissors grinder, to which the name alludes.
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Mill
A milling machine for machining of solid metal, wood, or plastic.
Lathes, mills, and drill presses
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Mill
The raised or ridged edge or surface made in milling anything, such as a coin or screw.
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Grinder
A large sandwich made of a long crusty roll split lengthwise and filled with meats and cheese (and tomato and onion and lettuce and condiments); different names are used in different sections of the United States
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Oct 19, 2023
Mill
(figurative) An establishment that handles a certain type of situation or procedure routinely, or produces large quantities of an item without much regard to quality, such as a divorce mill, a puppy mill, etc.
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Mill
An institution awarding educational certificates not officially recognised
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Grinder
A sandwich or sub, especially in New England.
He ordered a meatball grinder from the deli.
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Nov 14, 2023
Mill
(die sinking) A hardened steel roller with a design in relief, used for imprinting a reversed copy of the design in a softer metal, such as copper.
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Mill
(mining) An excavation in rock, transverse to the workings, from which material for filling is obtained.
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Mill
An obsolete coin worth one thousandth of a US dollar, or one tenth of a cent.
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Mill
A line of three matching pieces in nine men's morris and related games.
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Mill
(trading card games) A strategy centered on depleting the opponent's deck.
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Mill
(transitive) To grind or otherwise process in a mill or other machine.
To mill flour
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Mill
(transitive) To engrave one or more grooves or a pattern around the edge of (a cylindrical object such as a coin).
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Mill
To move about in an aimless fashion.
I didn't have much to do, so I just milled around the town looking at the shops.
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Mill
To fill (a winze or interior incline) with broken ore, to be drawn out at the bottom.
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Mill
A money of account of the United States, having the value of the tenth of a cent, or the thousandth of a dollar.
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Mill
A machine for grinding or comminuting any substance, as grain, by rubbing and crushing it between two hard, rough, or indented surfaces; as, a gristmill, a coffee mill; a bone mill.
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Oct 19, 2023
Mill
A machine used for expelling the juice, sap, etc., from vegetable tissues by pressure, or by pressure in combination with a grinding, or cutting process; as, a cider mill; a cane mill.
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Oct 19, 2023
Mill
A common name for various machines which produce a manufactured product, or change the form of a raw material by the continuous repetition of some simple action; as, a sawmill; a stamping mill, etc.
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Mill
A building or collection of buildings with machinery by which the processes of manufacturing are carried on; as, a cotton mill; a powder mill; a rolling mill.
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Oct 19, 2023
Mill
A hardened steel roller having a design in relief, used for imprinting a reversed copy of the design in a softer metal, as copper.
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Oct 19, 2023
Mill
An excavation in rock, transverse to the workings, from which material for filling is obtained.
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Oct 19, 2023
Mill
The raised or ridged edge or surface made in milling anything, as a coin or screw.
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Mill
A building or complex of buildings containing a mill{1} or other machinery to grind grains into flour.
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Mill
To reduce to fine particles, or to small pieces, in a mill; to grind; to comminute.
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Mill
To shape, finish, or transform by passing through a machine; specifically, to shape or dress, as metal, by means of a rotary cutter.
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Mill
To make a raised border around the edges of, or to cut fine grooves or indentations across the edges of, as of a coin, or a screw head; also, to stamp in a coining press; to coin.
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Oct 19, 2023
Mill
To move in a circle, as cattle upon a plain; to move around aimlessly; - usually used with around.
The deer and the pig and the nilghar were milling round and round in a circle of eight or ten miles radius.
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Oct 19, 2023
Mill
To fill (a winze or interior incline) with broken ore, to be drawn out at the bottom.
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Mill
Scottish philosopher who expounded Bentham's utilitarianism; father of John Stuart Mill (1773-1836)
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Mill
English philosopher and economist remembered for his interpretations of empiricism and utilitarianism (1806-1873)
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Mill
A building equipped with machinery for grinding grain into flour.
The old mill by the river is still operational.
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Nov 14, 2023
Mill
A machine or device for grinding grain.
They bought a mill to make their own flour at home.
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Mill
A factory fitted with machinery for a particular manufacturing process.
The steel mill produces various metal products.
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Mill
A machine used for cutting or shaping metal.
The machinist used a mill to create the metal parts.
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Mill
To grind or crush something in a mill.
They milled the wheat into flour for baking.
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Repeatedly Asked Queries
What does a mill primarily do?
Grinds grain into flour or processes other raw materials.
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Nov 14, 2023
Is a pepper mill a type of grinder?
Yes, it's a specific type for grinding peppercorns.
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Nov 14, 2023
Can a grinder be used for making flour?
Not typically, it's more suited for smaller, less coarse materials.
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Nov 14, 2023
Do mills only process grain?
No, they can also process other materials like lumber.
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What is a grinder most commonly used for?
For grinding coffee, spices, or smoothing surfaces.
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What historic types of mills are there?
Windmills and watermills are historic types.
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Are mills used in industries other than food?
Yes, like in lumber or metal industries.
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Can grinders process wet ingredients?
Some types can, like certain spice grinders.
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Nov 14, 2023
Are all mills large and industrial?
No, there are smaller mills for home use.
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Nov 14, 2023
What is an angle grinder used for?
For cutting, grinding, and polishing metal.
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Nov 14, 2023
Is a coffee grinder a type of mill?
In a broad sense, yes, as it grinds coffee beans.
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Nov 14, 2023
Can a grinder be manual or electric?
Yes, grinders come in both manual and electric forms.
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Nov 14, 2023
What does "milling" mean in manufacturing?
It refers to the process of machining or shaping material.
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Nov 14, 2023
How do you choose a good grinder?
Based on its intended use, size, and power.
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Nov 14, 2023
Is a spice grinder the same as a coffee grinder?
They are similar but often specifically designed for their respective substances.
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Nov 14, 2023
Can a mill be portable?
Some small grain mills are designed to be portable.
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What products can be made in a mill?
Flour, lumber, metal products, and more.
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Can mills be used in energy production?
Yes, like in windmills for wind energy.
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Nov 14, 2023
How do you maintain a grinder?
Regular cleaning and sharp blade maintenance.
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Nov 14, 2023
Are grinders safe to use?
Yes, when used correctly with safety precautions.
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Nov 14, 2023
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About Author
Written by
Shumaila SaeedShumaila Saeed, an expert content creator with 6 years of experience, specializes in distilling complex topics into easily digestible comparisons, shining a light on the nuances that both inform and educate readers with clarity and accuracy.
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