mix
Noun pluralmixes
Pluralmixes
- 1To put two or more substances together and stir or blend them so that they combine, often to make something.
Mix the dry ingredients before adding the eggs.
He mixed cement and sand for the repair.
UsageName what is added with: mix the eggs with the flour, or mix two things together.
Similarcombine
- 2A combination of different things, people, or substances.
The neighborhood is a lively mix of shops, homes, and offices.
His writing shows an unusual mix of humor and grief.
UsageUsually a mix of things: a mix of humor and grief. Often with praise, as in a good mix.
Similarcombination, mixture, blend, assortment, variety
- 3To use or bring together, in one place or activity, things from different sources that are normally kept apart, such as styles, ideas, or work and leisure.
The librarian warned us not to mix the reference books with the lending stock.
He mixed business contacts and family friends on the same guest list.
UsageUsually mix X with Y, for things meant to stay apart, as in mix business with pleasure.
Note
George Goodchild in 1935 sets it beside the blending sense, describing a woman who mixed furniture "with the same fatal profligacy as she mixed drinks."
- 4A packaged preparation, usually a powder, to which other ingredients are added to make a particular food.
On Saturday mornings we make pancakes from a mix, adding just milk and an egg.
This bread mix produces a fresh loaf with just water and yeast.
- 5A version of a recording produced by combining and balancing its separate tracks.
The rough mix still needed more bass.
She emailed the band a new mix for feedback.
Note
Engineers judge the result by ear, so the talk is sensory: the rhythm mix sounds muddy. A mix is usually named by what it covers or how far along it is, such as a rhythm mix, a rough mix or a final mix. A rough mix is a draft to be listened to and revised; the final mix is the finished balance that goes on to mastering. It is the noun counterpart of combining recorded tracks.
Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 1 fact
- A rough mix is a draft; a mix can also be a finished version. deepsignalstudios.com
- 6To combine and balance the separately recorded tracks of a piece of music into a single finished recording.
The engineer mixed the guitar, bass, and vocals for the demo.
Most bands hire a specialist engineer to mix their albums.
UsageOften mix down when many tracks are reduced to fewer: mix the tracks down to two.
Note
The engineer works on the relative levels, panning and equalization of each part, so that separately recorded instruments sit together as one coherent sound. Mixing down is one step in production rather than the finished record.
- 7An unbroken run of music tracks that a DJ blends one into the next, performed live or put out as a recording.
His hour-long mix moved from old disco to deep house without a single gap.
The radio station airs club mixes recorded live in the booth every Saturday night.
Similarset
Note
The word track does double duty in music. In a DJ's mix the tracks are whole songs, blended end to end so the set runs without a gap; in the studio mixing meaning they are the separate recorded parts of one song, balanced against each other at the same time. Club mixes, live mixes and hour-long mixes all belong to the DJ's sense.
Less common meanings
- 8Of two things or activities, to be compatible or able to coexist without trouble; most often used in the negative.
Alcohol and boating don't mix, as the harbor patrol reminds everyone each summer.
Politics and family dinners rarely mix, so we keep the conversation on football at Thanksgiving.
UsageThe usual pattern is X and Y don't mix: alcohol and driving don't mix.
- 9To join with others socially; to associate in company.
He prefers to mix with people who share his interests.
At the conference, she found it easy to mix with people she had never met before.
UsageUsually mix with people, or just mix well: she mixes well at parties.
Similarsocialize, mingle, associate, fraternize, hobnob
Note
The King James Bible of 1611 has the reflexive form, "Ephraim, he hath mixed himself among the people". William Henderson in 1866 stretches the verb to things, writing that the elder tree "mixes largely in folk lore". He means it turns up there often.
- 10Material used to cut an illegal drug, diluting it or making it impure.
He swore the bag was pure, but it was mostly mix with only a little of the real drug in it.
The cocaine had been cut so heavily with mix that it was nearly worthless.
Similarcut
Note
Its synonym is cut, and both name whatever substance is added to stretch a supply. Often it is cheap filler that lowers potency, but it can be another active drug.
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Practice
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Origins
From Middle English mixen, from Old English *mixian, miscian, going back through Proto-Germanic to a Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to mix." It is related to Latin misceō, Ancient Greek mígnumi, and words for "mix" in many other languages.
Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 5 facts
- Mix derives from Middle English mixen and Old English *mixian, miscian. en.wiktionary.org
- The ancestry passes through Proto-Germanic. en.wiktionary.org
- The ultimate Proto-Indo-European root means 'to mix'. en.wiktionary.org
- Mix is related to Latin misceō and Ancient Greek mígnumi. en.wiktionary.org
- Mix has relatives meaning 'mix' in many other languages. en.wiktionary.org
Two sources merged here: the verb "mix" used as a noun, and Anglo-Norman mixte, borrowed from Latin mixtus, past participle of misceō ("mix"). These days people simply take it as the noun of the verb.