mug
Americannoun
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a drinking cup, usually cylindrical in shape, having a handle, and often of a heavy substance, as earthenware.
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the quantity it holds.
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Slang.
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the face.
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the mouth.
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an exaggerated facial expression; grimace, as in acting.
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a thug, ruffian, or other criminal.
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British Slang. a gullible person; dupe; fool.
verb (used with object)
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to assault or menace, especially with the intention of robbery.
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Slang. to photograph (a person), especially in compliance with an official or legal requirement.
verb (used without object)
noun
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slang a person's face or mouth
get your ugly mug out of here!
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slang a grimace
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slang a gullible person, esp one who is swindled easily
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a worthless activity
verb
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informal (tr) to attack or rob (someone) violently
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slang (intr) to pull faces or overact, esp in front of a camera
noun
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a drinking vessel with a handle, usually cylindrical and made of earthenware
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Also called: mugful. the quantity held by a mug or its contents
Other Word Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
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has muggedperfect 3rd person singular
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have muggedperfect
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is muggingprogressive 3rd person singular
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has been muggingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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muggingparticiple
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have been muggingperfect progressive
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mugssingular 3rd person
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are muggingprogressive
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am muggingprogressive 1st person singular
Past
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had muggedperfect
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was muggingprogressive singular
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had been muggingperfect progressive
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were muggingprogressive plural
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muggedparticiple
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muggedsimple
Future
Etymology
Origin of mug
First recorded in 1560–70; probably from Scandinavian; compare Swedish mugg, Norwegian, Danish mugge “drinking cup”; sense “face” apparently transferred from cups adorned with grotesque faces; sense “to assault” from earlier pugilistic slang “to strike in the face, fight”
Explanation
Mug is a funny word that could represent a cup, your face, or even what you do when you rob someone. And, if you mug someone for their mug, you may end up getting a mug shot taken of your guilty face. Confusing? Read on. A mug is an informal vessel for drinking coffee or tea, as opposed to a china tea cup or a demitasse espresso cup, for example. Informally, a mug is a face: that's why a mug shot of a prisoner is a picture of his face right after he has been arrested. When it's a verb, mug means "rob someone while threatening violence." This meaning came from an earlier definition, "to strike someone in the face (or the mug)."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
His eBay seller’s page featured sports collectibles and plenty of GameStop-related merchandise, such as a GameStop mug for over $3,000, a GameStop mouse pad for over $1,500 and a pair of socks for over $14,000.
From MarketWatch • May 12, 2026
As one of the site’s Nation Builders—first-person interpreters portraying figures of Revolutionary America—Smith regularly fields autograph requests and accepts gifts: a custom mug tiled with his own face, a vinyl album of original Jefferson ballads.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 16, 2026
There are some moments in “High Potential” when your character is holding up a mug with the Dominican Republic flag.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 31, 2026
Soft enough to give under a fork, structured enough to hold its shape beside a mug of coffee.
From Salon • Mar. 31, 2026
It was a snow-white shaving mug with a fancy design on it.
From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
