Meanings
plural minces · alternative dialectal minch · alternative obsolete minse
- uncountableFinely chopped meat; minced meat.
Mince tastes really good fried in a pan with some chopped onion and tomato.
- countableAn affected (often dainty or short and precise) gait.
She was just the same; she had a light way of walking and she always wore flat heels so she didn't have that mince like most girls.
1963, John Fowles, The Collector, page 152 more examples
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.
1949, Truman Capote, “Children on their Birthdays”, in A Tree of Night and Other Stories, page 36His skin was china pale, he walked with a slight mince, and his silver mustache was always trimmed sharp; it was his custom to send a bouquet of pink carnations to the wives of men with whom he dined.
2010, Tom Zoellner, Uranium: War, Energy, and the Rock That Shaped the World - countableAn affected manner, especially of speaking; an affectation.
[...] a smiling man, portly and impressive, coming toward them with a dignified mince in his walk.
2008, Opie Read, The Colossus, page 952 more examples
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.
1896, George Bernard Shaw, “Madame Sans-Gene”, in London Saturday ReviewAnd, further, who has not heard what someone has christened the "Oxford" mince, where every consonant is mispronounced and every vowel gets a wrong value?
1928, R. M. Pope, The Education Outlook, volume 80, page 285 - Cockneycountablein pluralslangAn 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.
2009 May 21, planetdave, “Speed traps”, in PistonHeads, retrieved 22 Mar 2017
present singular third person minces · participle present mincing · participle past minced · past minced · alternative dialectal minch · alternative obsolete minse
- transitiveTo make less; to make small.
- To say or utter vaguely (not directly or frankly).
a minced oath
3 more examples
to mince one's words
I know no ways to mince it in love, but directly to say — "I love you."
1599 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Life of Henry the Fift”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene ii]Despite prolonged exposure to harsh conditions, medics say Nora Tallis returned to the Nexus in stable condition. In a statement to HNS, Tallis did not mince words. "Never send me to that hellhole again."
2017, BioWare, Mass Effect: Andromeda (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →OCLC, PC, scene: ELAADEN (HNS) - Nora Tallis Found Alive - transitiveTo affect; to pronounce affectedly or with an accent.
"[…]The preacher said it was sympathetic," she minced the word, remembering Mr. Larsen's manner.
1915 October, Willa Sibert Cather, chapter III, in The Song of the Lark, Boston, Mass.; New York, N.Y.: Houghton Mifflin Company […], →OCLC, part II (The Song of the Lark), page 1862 more examples
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.
1869, Alexander J. Ellis, On Early English Pronunciation, with special reference to Shakespeare and Chaucer, part 1, page 194One may hear some speakers in Oxford mince brother into brover (brëvë); Bath into Baf; both into bof.
1905, George Henderson, The Gaelic Dialects, IV, in the Zeitschrift für celtische Philologie, published by Kuno Meyer and L. Chr. Stern, volume 5, page 98 - intransitiveTo walk with short steps; to walk in a prim, affected manner.
I'll […] turn two mincing steps into a manly stride.
c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene iv], page 177, column 12 more examples
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.
1943 November – 1944 February (date written; published 1945 August 17), George Orwell [pseudonym; Eric Arthur Blair], Animal Farm […], London: Secker & Warburg, published May 1962, →OCLCThe daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk with stretched forth necks and wanton eyes, mincing as they go.
1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Isaiah 3:16
Synonyms & antonyms
verbTo lessen; to diminish; to diminish in speaking; to speak of lightly or slightingly; to minimise.
More synonyms by meaning
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*mey-“small, little”
- Proto-Germanic*minniz“less”
- Frankish*minsto
- Old Frenchmincer
- Proto-Germanic*minnisōną“to make less”
- Proto-West Germanic*minnisōn
- Old Englishminsian
- Middle Englishmincen
- Englishmince
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.
More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-West Germanic
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Afrikaans maalvleis, maal
- maalvleisfinely chopped meat — see also ground beef
- maalto chop fine
Ancient Greek περίκομμα, ἰσίκιον
- περίκομμα (períkomma)finely chopped meat — see also ground beef
- ἰσίκιον (isíkion)finely chopped meat — see also ground beef
Arabic لَحْم مَفْرُوم
- لَحْم مَفْرُوم (laḥm mafrūm)finely chopped meat — see also ground beef
Bulgarian кайма́, кълцам
- кайма́ (kajmá)finely chopped meat — see also ground beef
- кълцам (kălcam)to chop fine
- меля (melja)to chop fine
- смекчавам (smekčavam)to suppress or weaken the force of
Catalan carn picada, carn picolada
- carn picadafinely chopped meat — see also ground beef
- carn picoladafinely chopped meat — see also ground beef
- carn capoladafinely chopped meat — see also ground beef
- carn trinxadafinely chopped meat — see also ground beef
Chinese Cantonese 肉碎, 免治
- 肉碎 (juk⁶ seoi³)finely chopped meat — see also ground beef
- 免治 (min⁵ zi⁶)finely chopped meat — see also ground beef
- 切碎 (cit³ seoi³)to chop fine
Chinese Mandarin 肉餡 /肉馅, 醢
- 肉餡 /肉馅 (ròuxiàn)finely chopped meat — see also ground beef
- 醢 (hǎi)finely chopped meat — see also ground beef
- 碎肉 (suìròu)finely chopped meat — see also ground beef
- 免治肉 (miǎnzhìròu)finely chopped meat — see also ground beef
- 扭捏 (niǔnie)short precise step
- 扭扭捏捏 (niǔniuniēniē)short precise step
- 扭捏 (niǔnie)affected manner
- 扭扭捏捏 (niǔniuniēniē)affected manner
- 剁碎 (duòsuì)to chop fine
- 扭捏 (niǔnie)to walk in short precise step
- 扭扭捏捏 (niǔniuniēniē)to walk in short precise step
- 扭捏 (niǔnie)to act or talk with affected nicety
- 扭扭捏捏 (niǔniuniēniē)to act or talk with affected nicety
Czech sekaná, mleté maso
- sekanáfinely chopped meat — see also ground beef
- mleté masofinely chopped meat — see also ground beef
Dutch gehakt, hakken
- gehaktfinely chopped meat — see also ground beef
- hakkento chop fine
Estonian hakkliha
- hakklihafinely chopped meat — see also ground beef
Finnish jauheliha, sipsutus
- jauhelihafinely chopped meat — see also ground beef
- sipsutusshort precise step
- hienosteluaffected manner
- sievistelyaffected manner
- hienontaato chop fine
- silputato chop fine
- sipsuttaato walk in short precise step
- sievistelläto act or talk with affected nicety
- keimaillato act or talk with affected nicety
French hachis, viande hachée
- hachisfinely chopped meat — see also ground beef
- viande hachéefinely chopped meat — see also ground beef
- hacherto chop fine
German Hackfleisch, Gehacktes
- Hackfleischfinely chopped meat — see also ground beef
- Gehacktesfinely chopped meat — see also ground beef
- Hackfinely chopped meat — see also ground beef
- Hackepeterfinely chopped meat — see also ground beef
- Faschiertesfinely chopped meat — see also ground beef
- hackento chop fine
- wolfento chop fine
- kleinhackento chop fine
- abschwächento suppress or weaken the force of
- unterdrückento suppress or weaken the force of
- mildernto suppress or weaken the force of
- trippelnto walk in short precise step
Greek κιμάς, ψιλοκόβω
- κιμάς (kimás)finely chopped meat — see also ground beef
- ψιλοκόβω (psilokóvo)to chop fine
- λιανίζω (lianízo)to chop fine
- πουστοφέρνω (poustoférno)to act or talk with affected nicety
Hungarian vagdalt
- vagdaltfinely chopped meat — see also ground beef
Indonesian daging cincang
- daging cincangfinely chopped meat — see also ground beef
Irish mionfheoil
- mionfheoilfinely chopped meat — see also ground beef
Italian macinato, tritare
- macinatofinely chopped meat — see also ground beef
- tritareto chop fine
- macinareto chop fine
- moderareto suppress or weaken the force of
Japanese 挽肉, 肉餡
- 挽肉 (hikiniku)finely chopped meat — see also ground beef
- 肉餡 (nikuan)finely chopped meat — see also ground beef
Korean 민스미트, 고기소
- 민스미트 (minseumiteu)finely chopped meat — see also ground beef
- 고기소 (gogiso)finely chopped meat — see also ground beef
Latin minūtal
- minūtalfinely chopped meat — see also ground beef
Lithuanian zuikis, faršas (semi-finished)
- zuikisfinely chopped meat — see also ground beef
- faršas (semi-finished)finely chopped meat — see also ground beef
Malay daging cincang
- daging cincangfinely chopped meat — see also ground beef
Māori mīti kōnatunatu, mīti mōrohe
- mīti kōnatunatufinely chopped meat — see also ground beef
- mīti mōrohefinely chopped meat — see also ground beef
- kōnatunatuto chop fine
Norwegian tripping, finhakke
- trippingshort precise step
- finhakketo chop fine
- trippeto walk in short precise step
Norwegian Bokmål kjøttdeig, farse
- kjøttdeigfinely chopped meat — see also ground beef
- farsefinely chopped meat — see also ground beef
Persian قیمه, خرد کردن
- قیمه (qeyme)finely chopped meat — see also ground beef
- خرد کردن (xord-kardan)to chop fine
Polish mięso mielone, kroczek
- mięso mielonefinely chopped meat — see also ground beef
- kroczekshort precise step
- afektacjaaffected manner
- mielićto chop fine
- zmielićto chop fine
- osłabiaćto suppress or weaken the force of
- osłabićto suppress or weaken the force of
- moderowaćto suppress or weaken the force of
- zmoderowaćto suppress or weaken the force of
- dreptaćto walk in short precise step
- tuptaćto walk in short precise step
- drobićto walk in short precise step
- zachowywać się sztucznieto act or talk with affected nicety
- zachować się sztucznieto act or talk with affected nicety
Portuguese carne moída, picar
- carne moídafinely chopped meat — see also ground beef
- picarto chop fine
Punjabi ਕ਼ੀਮਾ
- ਕ਼ੀਮਾ (qīmā)finely chopped meat — see also ground beef
Romanian carne tocată, toca
- carne tocatăfinely chopped meat — see also ground beef
- tocato chop fine
Russian фарш, кроши́ть
- фарш (farš)finely chopped meat — see also ground beef
- кроши́ть (krošítʹ)to chop fine
- преуменьша́ть (preumenʹšátʹ)to suppress or weaken the force of
- семенить (semenitʹ)to walk in short precise step
Scottish Gaelic mions
- mionsfinely chopped meat — see also ground beef
Spanish picadillo, carne picada
- picadillofinely chopped meat — see also ground beef
- carne picadafinely chopped meat — see also ground beef
- carne molidafinely chopped meat — see also ground beef
- picarto chop fine
- repicarto chop fine
- trizarto chop fine
- destrizarto chop fine
Swedish köttfärs, malet kött
- köttfärsfinely chopped meat — see also ground beef
- malet köttfinely chopped meat — see also ground beef
- finhackato chop fine
Thai สับ
- สับ (sàp)to chop fine
Turkish kıyma, kıymak
- kıymafinely chopped meat — see also ground beef
- kıymakto chop fine
Ukrainian фарш
- фарш (farš)finely chopped meat — see also ground beef
Vietnamese thịt băm, thịt vằm
- thịt bămfinely chopped meat — see also ground beef
- thịt vằmfinely chopped meat — see also ground beef
- bămto chop fine
- bằmto chop fine
Welsh briwgig
- briwgigfinely chopped meat — see also ground beef
Yiddish האַקפֿלייש, קרעפּלפֿלייש
- האַקפֿלייש (hakfleysh)finely chopped meat — see also ground beef
- קרעפּלפֿלייש (kreplfleysh)finely chopped meat — see also ground beef
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with mince
All rhymes →Sounds the same
Anagrams
Cite this entry
mince. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mince
“mince.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mince. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “mince,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mince.
Source: mince on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.