Definition

1. Noun:
   • A heavy stone used for grinding grain: One of a pair of large, circular, flat stones used in a mill to crush grain into flour.
   • A heavy burden or responsibility: Something that is very difficult to bear, manage, or overcome.
   • A hindrance or handicap: (Figurative) A person, thing, or situation that severely holds someone back or makes progress very difficult.

Usage Examples

• Literal meaning (grinding stone):
  • The old millstone was turned by the power of the waterwheel.
  • Archaeologists found ancient millstones at the site.
• Figurative meaning (burden/hindrance):
  • The massive debt became a millstone around the company's neck.
  • His lack of education was a millstone that prevented him from getting a better job.

Advanced Usage

• "a millstone around one's neck": A very heavy burden or constant problem that one is forced to deal with.
  • The failing factory was a millstone around the town's neck for decades.
• "between the upper and the nether millstone": In a very difficult situation where one is being pressured from two opposing sides.
  • The small country was caught between the upper and the nether millstone of the two superpowers.

Variants and Related Words

• Mill (noun/verb): The building with machinery for grinding grain, or the act of processing material in a mill.
• Grindstone (noun): A revolving stone disk used for sharpening, grinding, or polishing. (Note: Similar in function and metaphorical use as a symbol of hard work, but not the same as a millstone).

Synonyms

• Burden: A heavy load or duty.
• Albatross: (Figurative) A persistent problem or burden. (From the idiom "an albatross around one's neck").
• Encumbrance: Something that impedes or is a burden.
• Hindrance: Something that provides resistance or delay.

Related Idioms

• "To see into a millstone": To be very perceptive or shrewd. (Archaic)
  • He's a clever lawyer who can see into a millstone.
• "As hard as the nether millstone": To be very hard-hearted or unfeeling.
  • His expression was as hard as the nether millstone.

Noun

1. one of a pair of heavy flat disk-shaped stones that are rotated against one another to grind the grain
2. any load that is difficult to carry
3. (figurative) something that hinders or handicaps
   • she was an albatross around his neck