Words that start with M

Mild mannered mice melt marshmallows in Minnesota.

Scientific name: subphylum: myriapoda, class: diplopoda
Millipedes are a type of creature that has many body segments, and two pairs of legs on each segment. They are related to centipedes, but they move a lot slower. Centipedes have only one pair of legs per segment.
A millstone is a very large, heavy, round stone that was used to grind things up inside a mill. Modern mills are highly mechanized, so used millstones tend to be set out on display like the one in the picture.

Mis forMince

Minced meat, or ground meat, is meat that has been cut into very small pieces by a mincing machine. Meat is not the only thing that can be minced, but is prepared this way so often that it can be referred to just as mince alone.
Mines are very large holes that people dig to get minerals out of the ground. Minerals can then be processed into useful things like metal. Mines can be underground tunnels or they can be open cut mines like in the picture. Open cut mines are more common today as they can be mined easier and more safely than underground mines, using enormous trucks and digging machinery.

Mis forMined

Mined is the past tense of mine. For example, "the copper was mined here".

Mis forMineral

Minerals are something naturally occurring, often called rock, stone or if they are to be used for mining, ores. People often break nature into three groups, animal, mineral and vegetable.

Mis forMingle

You go out and mingle when you go out amongst other people and talk to them. Mingling is a great way to meet new people.
Something is miniature if it is a very small copy of something else. A miniature can either be a model of something, like a miniature car, or a word for a very small animal, such as a miniature horse.

Mis forMinimum

Minimum means the smallest amount of something allowed or needed. You often see minimums in forms and rules, like "minimum age" or "minimum wage." In math, minimum can mean the lowest value of a number or in a graph. The opposite of minimum is maximum.