mince
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mince
- /mɪns/ US, UK
Sounds like mints (most US speakers, also common elsewhere) · Rhymes with -ɪns
Where it comes from
From Middle English mincen, minsen; partly from Old English minsian, ġeminsian (“to make less, make smaller, diminish”), from Proto-West Germanic *minnisōn, from Proto-Germanic *minnisōną (“to make less”); partly from Old French mincer, mincier (“to cut into small pieces”), from mince (“slender, slight, puny”), from Frankish *minsto, *minnisto, superlative of *min, *minn (“small, less”), from Proto-Germanic *minniz (“less”); both from Proto-Indo-European *mey- (“small, little”). Cognate with Old Saxon minsōn (“to make less, make smaller”), Old Dutch minson (“to make smaller”), Gothic 𐌼𐌹𐌽𐌶𐌽𐌰𐌽 (minznan, “to become less, diminish”), Swedish minska (“to reduce, lessen”), Gothic 𐌼𐌹𐌽𐍃 (mins, “slender, slight”). More at min.
noun minces · minch · minse
- Finely chopped meat; minced meat. Mince tastes really good fried in a pan with some chopped onion and tomato.
- Finely chopped mixed fruit used in Christmas pies; mincemeat. During Christmas time my dad loves to eat mince pies.
- An affected (often dainty or short and precise) gait. A wiry little girl in a starched, lemon-colored party dress, she sassed along with a grownup mince, one hand on her hip, the other supporting a spinsterish umbrella.
- An affected manner, especially of speaking; an affectation. A very moderate degree of accomplishment in this direction would make an end of stage smart speech, which, like the got-up Oxford mince and drawl of a foolish curate, is the mark of a snob.
- An eye (from mince pie). Lancashire is a bit nazi about speed and the M6 in that area can be either clear or infested with vans and their helicopter. On the good side the vans tend to be on well sighted bridges so just keep the old minces peeled.
- Something worthless; rubbish. That band's new album is total mince.
verb minces · mincing · minced · minch · minse
- To make less; to make small.
-
To lessen; to diminish; to diminish in speaking; to speak of lightly or slightingly; to minimise.
Similar: abase, abate, belittle, besmall, bring down, embase, cut, decrease, decrement, diminish, foreshorten, lessen
- To effect mincingly.
- To cut into very small pieces; to chop finely. Butchers often use machines to mince meat.
- To suppress or weaken the force of. Siren, now mince the sin, / And mollify damnation with a phrase.
- To say or utter vaguely (not directly or frankly). to mince one's words
- To affect; to pronounce affectedly or with an accent. In some districts of England ll is sounded like w, thus bowd (booud) for BOLD, bw (buu) for BULL, caw (kau) for CALL. But this pronunciation is merely a provincialism, and not to be imitated unless you wish to mince like these blunderers.
- To walk with short steps; to walk in a prim, affected manner. At the last moment Mollie, the foolish, pretty white mare who drew Mr. Jones's trap, came mincing daintily in, chewing at a lump of sugar.
- To act or talk with affected nicety; to affect delicacy in manner. I love going to gay bars and seeing drag queens mince around on stage.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: soften, moderate, chop, hash, swallow, chew, carve, gee, afraid, pies, mincemeat, morsel, morceau, meat, min., morcel
Translations
Every language
noun finely chopped meat — see also ground beef
| Español | picadillo, carne picada, carne molida |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 민스미트 minseumiteu, 고기소 gogiso |
| 日本語 | 挽肉 hikiniku, 肉餡 nikuan |
| 中文 | 肉餡 /肉馅 ròuxiàn, 醢 hǎi, 碎肉 suìròu, 免治肉 miǎnzhìròu |
| Português | carne moída |
| Français | hachis, viande hachée |
| Deutsch | Hackfleisch, Gehacktes, Hack, Hackepeter |
| Italiano | macinato |
| Ελληνικά | κιμάς kimás |
| Română | carne tocată |
| Русский | фарш farš |
| Tiếng Việt | thịt băm, thịt vằm |
| العربية | لَحْم مَفْرُوم laḥm mafrūm |
verb to chop fine
| Español | picar, repicar, trizar, destrizar |
|---|---|
| 中文 | 剁碎 duòsuì |
| Português | picar |
| Français | hacher |
| Deutsch | hacken, wolfen, kleinhacken |
| Italiano | tritare, macinare |
| Ελληνικά | ψιλοκόβω psilokóvo, λιανίζω lianízo |
| Română | toca |
| Русский | кроши́ть krošítʹ |
| Tiếng Việt | băm, bằm |
verb to suppress or weaken the force of
| Deutsch | abschwächen, unterdrücken, mildern |
|---|---|
| Italiano | moderare |
| Русский | преуменьша́ть preumenʹšátʹ |
verb to walk in short precise step
| 中文 | 扭捏 niǔnie, 扭扭捏捏 niǔniuniēniē |
|---|---|
| Deutsch | trippeln |
| Русский | семенить semenitʹ |
verb to act or talk with affected nicety
| 中文 | 扭捏 niǔnie, 扭扭捏捏 niǔniuniēniē |
|---|---|
| Ελληνικά | πουστοφέρνω poustoférno |
Talk about this word "mince." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/mince. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. mince. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/mince "mince." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/mince.Cite this
@misc{mince_2026,
title = {mince},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/mince},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
