name
Meaning 1
A surname from Irish.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Standard Lemma guide
mulligan
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
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/ˈmʌlɪɡən/
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homophone: mulligan
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homophone: Mulligan
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CMU ARPABET: M AH1 L IH0 G AH0 N Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
noun
Meaning 2
Ellipsis of mulligan stew.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: abbreviation, alt-of, countable, ellipsis, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 3
An unpenalized chance to re-take a stroke that went awry.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
Topics: golf, hobbies, lifestyle, sports
Examples
- If you lose your drive in the water, take a mulligan and try again.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 4
An opportunity (sometimes penalized) for a player to reshuffle their cards and draw a new initial hand at the beginning of a game.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
Qualifier: collectible card games
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 5
A second chance.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: broadly, countable, uncountable
Examples
- Don't do poorly in your first interview; you won't get a mulligan.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 6
Irish version of burgoo
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: mulligan stew, Irish burgoo
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: stew
History
Etymology
Reduced Anglicized form of Irish Ó Maolagáin, from maolagán (“person with cropped hair”), from maol (“bald”).
Attested since the 1930s in the sense “chance to re-take a golf stroke”; probably from the name Mulligan, after a golfer who replayed a stroke. See Wikipedia for more information.
Across languages
Translations
4 source translations are retained for this English entry.
- Finnish: mulligan — golf: unpenalized chance to re-take a stroke
- Finnish: uusi käsi — card games: opportunity to draw a new initial hand
- Sicilian: ammugghiari — card games: opportunity to draw a new initial hand
- Sicilian: a-mugghiari — card games: opportunity to draw a new initial hand
Real reading context