I. mug 1 /mʌɡ/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Date: 1500-1600 ; Origin: Probably from a Scandinavian language ]
1 . a tall cup used for drinking tea, coffee etc:
a coffee mug
2 . a large glass with a handle, used especially for drinking beer:
a beer mug
3 . mug/mugful of something a mug and the liquid inside it:
Two mugs of tea, please.
4 . British English spoken informal someone who is stupid and easy to deceive:
Only a mug would pay that much for a meal.
5 . be a mug’s game British English spoken to be something that only stupid people do because it is not likely to be successful or to bring you money:
Gambling is a mug’s game.
6 . spoken informal a face:
Something scared him. Probably your ugly mug!
II. mug 2 BrE AmE verb ( past tense and past participle mugged , present participle mugging )
1 . [transitive] to attack someone and rob them in a public place:
A lot of people won’t go out alone at night because they’re afraid of being mugged.
2 . [intransitive] American English informal to make silly expressions with your face or behave in a silly way, especially for a photograph or in a play
mug for
All the kids were mugging for the camera.
mug up phrasal verb British English
informal to try to learn something in a short time, especially for an examination SYN swot up
mug up on
Jeannie can’t come. She’s busy mugging up on science for her exam.
mug something ↔ up
Mug up as much as you can about the country before your trip.