mile

American  

[mahyl] / maɪl /

noun

miles plural

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.

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mile British  

/ 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

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adverb

1. (intensifier)

   he likes his new job miles better

mile Scientific  

/ mīl /

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

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mile Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing mile

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

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• miles
  plural

Etymology

Origin of mile

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

Explanation

A mile is a unit for measuring distance. There are 1,760 yards in a mile, which is the same as 5,280 feet or 63,360 inches. If you're exhausted in the morning, your mile-long walk to school might feel much longer. In the U.S. and the U.K., the mile is the standard unit for measuring roads and highways, while most other countries use the kilometer instead. You might hear people talk about how many miles per gallon their cars can go, or how many miles per hour they're allowed to drive. Informally, the word miles also means "a long way," or "a lot," so you might describe a crowd stretching for miles. The Latin root, milia, means "thousands."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

mile miles

Kerr had lined up as the sixth-fastest man in history over the mile with a British record personal best of 3:45.34.

From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026

Great Britain's Josh Kerr smashed the long-standing men's mile world record with a spectacular performance at the London Diamond League.

From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026

“I live about a mile from here. I’m going to bed tonight in my own bed for the first time in a long time, knowing that you have my back.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026

I’d love to say that I won the point, but I missed the ball by a mile.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 12, 2026

“I’m going to make a pile of gold. Every pixie within a mile of here will be swarming this room if you leave those windows open, and that will probably be worse than a sneeze.”

From "Rump: The (Fairly) True Story of Rumpelstilskin" by Liesl Shurtliff

The Cretaceous-Paleogene impactor measured an estimated 10 to 15 kilometers across, or about six miles wide.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 19, 2026

The fruits of Tahnoon’s push are visible in the form of a massive construction site on a sandy patch of land miles from central Abu Dhabi, where thousands of laborers are working day and night.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 19, 2026

Sixty-two miles east of Tuskegee is the rural outpost of Eufaula, where pickup trucks haul fishing boats to the muddy banks of the nearby Chattahoochee River.

From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026

Banks buy miles to award to customers for signing up for their cards and using them to buy everyday items.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026

Luckily, her boat is faster than the pirates, and she keeps ahead of them all the way to Hagonoy, nine miles from Calumpit, where the Thirty-Seventh Division waits for the map.

From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly