mills
n. countablen. buildings where machines are used to crush grain into flour or to make materials like paper and cloth. You can also use this word for the machines themselves.
n. buildings equipped with machinery for grinding grain into flour or for manufacturing processes such as textile production. Often used metonymically to refer to the specific industrial equipment used for crushing or grinding.
The old water mill still grinds grain for the local bakery.
During the industrial revolution, many families moved to the city to find work in the textile mills.
The preservation society successfully restored the nineteenth-century flour mill, ensuring that its intricate wooden gears and massive grinding stones remained functional for educational demonstrations.
From mills, in reference to mill owners and mill workers.
Often appears in compound nouns like 'pepper mill', 'steel mill', or 'cotton mill'.