millstone

noun/ˈmɪlˌstoʊn/

Frequency rank: #18,233 most common English word

Meaning

a heavy burden that makes progress or success very difficult; also literally a large flat stone used to grind grain.

Illustration for the English word “millstone”

Example sentence

The debt he carried felt like millstone around his neck, dragging him down every day.

Synonyms & related words

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