ENGLISH
REFERENCE

milling

v.
C1 Advanced US //ˈmɪɫɪŋ// UK //mˈɪlɪŋ// milling

v. to move around in a large group without a clear direction or purpose. You often see this at a party or a busy train station while people wait.

v. moving about in a confused or aimless manner within a confined space. Often used in the present continuous form to describe the behavior of crowds or livestock.


SIMPLE

The guests are milling around the lobby while they wait for the doors to open.

CONTEXTUAL

Dozens of nervous students were milling about in the hallway before the final exam began.

COMPLEX

The airport was filled with passengers milling around aimlessly after the sudden cancellation of all evening flights left them stranded without information.

Synonyms
Usage

Usually followed by the prepositions 'about' or 'around'.

Pitfall

The crowd was milling the square.The crowd was milling around the square.In this sense, the verb is intransitive and requires a preposition like 'around' or 'about' to indicate the area of movement.

Idioms1 entry

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