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mil

1 American  
[mil] / mɪl /

noun

  1. a unit of length equal to 0.001 of an inch (0.0254 millimeters), used in measuring the diameter of wires.

  2. a military unit of angular measurement equal to the angle subtended by 1/6400 of a circumference.

  3. (less accurately) the angle subtended by an arc equal to 1/1000 (0.001) of the radius or distance.

  4. (used formerly in pharmaceutical prescriptions) a milliliter.

  5. a former bronze coin of the mandate of Palestine, the 1/1000 part of a pound.

mil 2 American  
[mil] / mɪl /

noun

  1. Slang. a million.

mil. 3 American  

abbreviation

  1. military.

  2. militia.

mil. 1 British  

abbreviation

  1. military

  2. militia

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
mil 2 British  

abbreviation

  1. a US military department

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
mil 3 British  
/ mɪl /

noun

  1. a unit of length equal to one thousandth of an inch

  2. an obsolete pharmaceutical unit of volume equal to one millilitre

  3. a unit of angular measure, used in gunnery, equal to one sixty-four-hundredth of a circumference

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
mil Scientific  
/ mĭl /

  1. A unit of length in the US Customary System equal to 1/1000 of an inch (0.03 millimeter), used chiefly to measure the diameter of wires.

Etymology

Origin of mil1

First recorded in 1715–25; short for Latin millēsimus “thousandth,” equivalent to mill(e) “thousand” ( mile ) + -ēsimus ordinal suffix

Origin of mil2

By shortening

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The quarterback alone, lured away from Duke this past offseason, cost a cool mil.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 24, 2024

"These agreements were reached just recently, and we know that we have work with the PRC mil to do to solidify the next steps," Franchetti said.

From Reuters • Nov. 24, 2023

“La probabilidad de que existan gérmenes quizá sea pequeña, pero no podemos poner en peligro a mil millones de vidas”, escribió Sagan.

From New York Times • Sep. 10, 2022

What on earth is the point of moving into these places that take a nonrefundable half a mil from you before you even move in??

From Slate • May 4, 2022

“Gwyneth mil ruin that sparrow hawk,” remarked Lancelot.

From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.