To mix means to combine different things together so they blend into something new. When you mix flour, eggs, and milk, you get pancake batter. When you mix red and blue paint, you create purple. The separate ingredients or parts lose their individual identity and become unified.

Mixing happens everywhere. A DJ mixes songs together to create smooth transitions at a dance party. Scientists mix chemicals in careful amounts to create new compounds. When you shuffle a deck of cards, you're mixing them up so no one knows what order they're in. You can mix serious work with fun breaks to keep your day balanced.

The word also describes a confusing jumble. If you mix up two similar-looking words on a spelling test, you've confused them with each other. A mix-up at a pizza restaurant means someone got the wrong order.

A mixture is the thing you create by mixing: cookie dough is a mixture, and so is the group of students in your classroom. When something is mixed, it contains different elements combined together, like a mixed bag of candy with different flavors, or mixed feelings when you're both excited and nervous about something new.