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mile

Syllabification: (mile)
Pronunciation: /mīl/
Translate mile | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of mile

noun

(also statute mile)
  • a unit of linear measure equal to 5,280 feet, or 1,760 yards (approximately 1.609 kilometers).
  • historical (also Roman mile) a Roman measure of 1,000 paces (approximately 1,620 yards).
  • (usually miles) informal a very long way or a very great amount:vistas that stretch for miles
  • a race extending over a mile.

adverb

(as submodifier miles) informal
  • by a great amount or a long way:the second tape is miles better

Phrases

be miles away

informal be lost in thought and consequently unaware of what is happening around one.

go the extra mile

be especially assiduous in one’s attempt to achieve something.

a mile a minute

informal very quickly:he talks a mile a minute

miles from anywhere

informal in a very isolated place.

see (or tell or spot) something a mile off

informal recognize something very easily:the first-year campers can be spotted a mile off

stand (or stick) out a mile

informal be very obvious or incongruous.

Origin:

Old English mīl, based on Latin mil(l)ia, plural of mille 'thousand' (the original Roman unit of distance was mille passus 'a thousand paces')

mile in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of mile in the British & World English dictionary

Nearby words

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