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mile

Pronunciation: /mʌɪl/

Translate mile | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of mile

noun

  • 1 (also statute mile) a unit of linear measure equal to 1,760 yards (approximately 1.609 kilometres).
  • a race extending over a mile: he rode the fastest mile of his entire career in 1914
  • historical a Roman measure of 1,000 paces (approximately 1,620 yards).
  • 2 (usually miles) informal a very long way or a very great amount:vistas which stretch for miles this is my favourite film by 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 unaware of what is happening around one: I was thinking about something else - I was miles away

go the extra mile

make a special effort to achieve something: state regulators will go the extra mile to ensure that this settlement is as investor-friendly as possible

a mile a minute

informal very quickly:he talks a mile a minute

miles from anywhere

informal in a very isolated place: it can be lonely, living miles from anywhere

the mile-high club

humorous used in reference to having sex on an aircraft:she joined the mile-high club by making love on a flight between New York and LA

run a mile

informal used with reference to a situation regarded as frightening or alarming:if someone proposed to me I’d probably run a mile

see (or tell or spot) something a mile off

informal recognize something very easily:the baddies can be spotted a mile off

stand (or stick) out a mile

informal be very obvious: his skill stood out a mile

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 US English dictionary

Nearby words

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