v. mixed, mix·ing, mix·es v. tr. 1. a. To combine or blend into one mass or mixture: Mix the dry ingredients first. b. To create or form by combining ingredients: mix a drink; mix cement. c. To add (an ingredient or element) to another: mix an egg into batter. 2. To combine or join: mix joy with sorrow. 3. To bring into social contact: mix boys and girls in the classroom. 4. To produce (an organism) by crossbreeding. 5. a. To combine (two or more audio tracks or channels) to produce a composite audio recording. b. To produce (a soundtrack or recording) in this manner. v. intr. 1. a. To become combined or blended together: Stir until the eggs mix with the flour. b. To be capable of being blended together: Oil does not mix with water. 2. To associate socially or get along with others: He does not mix well at parties. 3. To mate so as to produce a hybrid; crossbreed. 4. To become involved: In the case of a family argument, a friend should not mix in. n. Phrasal Verbs: 1. a. A combination of diverse elements: The downtown has a good mix of stores and restaurants. b. A mixture of ingredients packaged and sold commercially: a cake mix. c. A recording that is produced by combining and adjusting two or more audio tracks or channels. 2. An animal resulting from interbreeding, especially a dog or cat of mixed breed. mix down To combine all of the audio components of a recording into a final soundtrack or mix. mix up Idiom: 1. To confuse; confound: His explanation just mixed me up more. I always mix up the twins. 2. To involve or implicate: He got himself mixed up with the wrong people. mix it up Slang To fight. [Back-formation from Middle English mixt, mixed, mixed, from Anglo-Norman mixte, from Latin mixtus, past participle of miscēre, to mix; see meik- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.] mixa·ble adj. Synonyms: mix, blend, mingle, merge, amalgamate, coalesce, fuse2 These verbs mean to put into or come together in one mass so that constituent parts or elements are diffused or commingled. Mix is the least specific: The cook mixed eggs, flour, and sugar. Do work and play never mix? To blend is to mix intimately and harmoniously so that the components lose their original definition: The clerk blended mocha and java coffee beans. Snow-covered mountains blended into the clouds. Mingle implies combination without loss of individual characteristics: “Respect was mingled with surprise” (Sir Walter Scott). Merge and amalgamate imply resultant homogeneity: Tradition and innovation are merged in this new composition. Twilight merged into night. “The four sentences of the original are amalgamated into two” (William Minto). Coalesce implies a slow merging: “The resulting slosh of debris coalesced into a slightly larger Earth and the moon in orbit around Earth” (Kenneth Chang). Fuse emphasizes an enduring union, as that formed by heating metals: “He diffuses a tone and spirit of unity, that blends, and (as it were) fuses, each into each” (Samuel Taylor Coleridge). |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.