mile

[mahyl]

noun

1. Also called statute mile. a unit of distance on land in English-speaking countries equal to 5,280 feet, or 1,760 yards (1.609 kilometers).

2. nautical mile.

3. international nautical mile.

4. any of various other units of distance or length at different periods and in different countries.

5. a notable distance or margin: mi, mi.

   missed the target by a mile.

mile

/ maɪl /

noun

1. Also called: statute mile. a unit of length used in the UK, the US, and certain other countries, equal to 1760 yards. 1 mile is equivalent to 1.609 34 kilometres

2. See nautical mile

3. See Swedish mile

4. any of various units of length used at different times and places, esp the Roman mile, equivalent to 1620 yards

5. informal,  (often plural) a great distance; great deal

   he missed by a mile

6. a race extending over a mile

adverb

1. (intensifier)

   he likes his new job miles better

mile

1. A unit of length in the US Customary System, equal to 5,280 feet or 1,760 yards (about 1.61 kilometers).

2. Also called statute mile

3. See nautical mile See Table at measurement

Word History and Origins

Origin of mile¹

First recorded before 1000; Middle English; Old English mīl, from Latin mīlle (passus); mīlle, mīlia (passuum) “a thousand (paces), thousands of paces”

Word History and Origins

Origin of mile¹

Old English mīl, from Latin mīlia ( passuum ) a thousand (paces)

Idioms and Phrases

• miss by a mile
• miss is as good as a mile
• stick out (like a mile)

Example Sentences

Then there are the questions about the security benefit of piling military assets onto an island where the two top regional flashpoints—Taiwan and the South China Sea—are over 1,500 miles away.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Rosebank is an oil and gas field which lies about 80 miles north-west of Shetland and is one of the largest undeveloped discoveries of fossil fuels in UK waters.

Read more on BBC

In October 2017, 300 miles south of Happy Camp, a wildfire blazed through Santa Rosa, Calif., killing 22 people and destroying 5,600 structures.

Read more on MarketWatch

This action starts at an epicenter and moves in one or more directions down a fault, sometimes for hundreds of miles over a matter of minutes.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Sitting at the bottom of the world, about 1,200 miles from the east coast of Australia, New Zealand is far.

Read more on Barron's