Mince means to chop food into very tiny pieces, much smaller than you'd get from regular chopping. When you mince garlic, you cut it so fine that each piece is barely visible. The goal is to spread the flavor throughout a dish without anyone biting into big chunks.

Cooks mince ingredients like onions, ginger, or herbs when they want the flavor to blend in smoothly. Those tiny pieces cook faster and distribute their taste more evenly than larger chunks would. You might see a recipe that says to finely mince fresh parsley or to mince three cloves of garlic.

The word also means to walk with short, dainty steps, like someone trying to tiptoe across a cold floor. An actor playing a fancy character might mince across the stage with exaggerated little steps.

There's also the expression “not mince words,” which means to speak directly and honestly without softening the message. If your coach doesn't mince words about your performance, she tells you exactly what you need to improve, even if it's hard to hear. She doesn't chop up her message into gentler, smaller pieces.