mug

UK/mʌɡ/US/mʌɡ/

nounA2+2 meanings Common in everyday speech and writing · #3,080 of 15,258leans spoken

Other forms: mugs, mugging, mugged

A mug is a big cup with a handle, made for hot drinks. A mug of tea, chipped mug, favourite mug.

It holds more than a cup and has straighter sides, which keeps a drink hot longer — the narrower opening loses less heat. In British slang a mug is a fool who is easily cheated, and to mug somebody is to rob them in the street. A mugshot is a police photograph.

Definitions of mug

1nounmugA big cup with a handle for hot drinks.A2+
“He wrapped his cold hands around a hot mug of coffee.”
- Said"Grab me a mug, would you? The big one with the chip."
- WrittenThe mugs on the office shelf told you who had been there longest.
- UsedWarm the mug with hot water before you pour the coffee in.
- ContrastA mug, not a cup. A cup is small and sits on a saucer; a mug is big and stands alone. cup →
- Not thisTea in a glass is not a mug of tea. A mug is thick, with a handle.
- Exchange"Which one?""The mug. I need a proper one this morning."
Patterna mug of + noun (tea, coffee, soup) · a coffee mug · mug handle · a mug tree
2verbrobTo rob somebody in the street.B2
“He was mugged on his way home and lost his phone and wallet.”

mug is a drinking vessel.

Remember it

MUG → a HUG you can drink

A big mug of hot chocolate on a cold night: a hug you can hold in both hands.

hooks ontohug

Where it comes from

Mug appears in the sixteenth century in Scots and northern English for an earthenware pot, of unknown origin, perhaps Scandinavian.

Built from

mog · Middle English — a measure of salt

Early 16th century (originally Scots - and northern English, denoting "earthenware, pot, jug"), of unknown origin, perhaps from gmq - (compare Swedish mugg (“mug, jug”), Norwegian mugge (“pitcher, open can for warm drinks”), Danish mugge), or Low German mokke, mukke (“mug”), German Low German Muck (“drinking cup”), Dutch mok (“mug”), also of unknown origin. Perhaps related to Old English muga (“stack”) and Old Norse múgr (“mass, heap (of corn)”). Compare also Middle English mug, mog (“a measure of salt”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Definitions of mug

1nounmugA big cup with a handle for hot drinks.A2+

“He wrapped his cold hands around a hot mug of coffee.”

Said"Grab me a mug, would you? The big one with the chip."
WrittenThe mugs on the office shelf told you who had been there longest.
UsedWarm the mug with hot water before you pour the coffee in.
ContrastA mug, not a cup. A cup is small and sits on a saucer; a mug is big and stands alone. cup →
Not thisTea in a glass is not a mug of tea. A mug is thick, with a handle.
Exchange"Which one?""The mug. I need a proper one this morning."

Patterna mug of + noun (tea, coffee, soup) · a coffee mug · mug handle · a mug tree

2verbrobTo rob somebody in the street.B2

“He was mugged on his way home and lost his phone and wallet.”

mug is a drinking vessel.