To mince means to cut something—usually food—into very small, fine pieces. In everyday words, it’s the action of chopping something into tiny bits so it cooks faster or mixes better.
At home, you mince garlic when a recipe says “2 cloves, minced,” you mince onions for spaghetti sauce, and butchers mince beef to make hamburger. People also say “minced meat” or “mince” as a noun for ground beef or lamb.
Meaning & Usage Examples
- Verb: “Mince the onion until the pieces are almost like grains of rice.”
- Noun (UK): “I’ll grab 500 g of beef mince for tonight’s tacos.”
- Phrase: “mince pie” (a sweet pastry filled with spiced dried fruit, not meat).
Context / Common Use
Recipes tell you to mince herbs and garlic so their flavor spreads quickly. Grocery stores label trays as “chicken mince” or “turkey mince” to show the meat is finely ground. In British English, “mince” alone almost always means ground beef.
Is minced meat the same as ground meat?
Yes. In everyday talk, minced meat and ground meat mean the same thing—meat chopped or ground into small pieces.
How small should minced garlic be?
About the size of coarse sand or smaller; so small that no big chunks remain.
Can I use a blender to mince?
You can, but pulse gently—blend too long and it turns into a paste instead of clean little bits.
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