Meaning & use
a puppy mill
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Meaning
nouncountabledisapproving
A place where many dogs are bred in poor, crowded conditions to make money, often with little care for the animals' health.
Grammar: Countable: you can say a puppy mill, the puppy mill, or puppy mills.
Patterns
- run a puppy mill
- come from a puppy mill
- buy a dog from a puppy mill
The inspectors closed down a puppy mill where dozens of dogs were kept in tiny cages.
Animal groups advise people not to buy a puppy from a puppy mill or a pet store that uses one.
She adopted a retired breeding dog that had spent years in a puppy mill.
Word forms
| plural | puppy mills |
|---|
Common combinations
- run a puppy mill
- The family ran a puppy mill for years before the authorities found out.
- a puppy mill dog
- A puppy mill dog often has health problems from poor breeding.
- shut down a puppy mill
- Local officials shut down a puppy mill after complaints from neighbors.
- puppy mill puppies
- Puppy mill puppies are usually sold online or in pet shops.
Synonyms and how they differ
- puppy farm
- The usual British term for the same kind of place; it is equally critical.
- breeding kennel
- A neutral term for a place that breeds dogs; it does not suggest bad conditions.
Commonly confused: a puppy mill or puppy farm?
a puppy mill vs puppy farm
This is the British English term for a puppy mill; the meaning is the same, but the word farm is used instead of mill.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'a puppy mill' correctly?
Choose one answer.
A puppy mill is a place where dogs are bred in bad conditions, so 'saved twenty dogs from a puppy mill' fits. Option A confuses it with a grooming or vet clinic; option C treats it as an object you can buy; option D invents a machine meaning.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “a puppy mill”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.