Miles
- Nelson Appleton,1839–1925, U.S. army officer.
- a male given name: from a Germanic word meaning “merciful.”
mile
- Also called statute mile. a unit of distance on land in English-speaking countries equal to 5280 feet, or 1760 yards (1.609 kilometers).
- nautical mile.
- international nautical mile.
- any of various other units of distance or length at different periods and in different countries.Compare Roman mile.
- a notable distance or margin: missed the target by a mile. Abbreviation: mi, mi.
Origin of mile
Examples from the Web for miles
Contemporary Examples
In this war, the targeting is often happening on computer monitors thousands of miles away, capturing images from drones.
Strong currents and winds, however, mean any debris could be drifting up to 31 miles a day eastward, away from the impact zone.
Miles of Soviet era housing projects sat along on the ocean.
Casino resorts thrive in the Bahamas and have a presence in almost every port of call for hundreds of miles.
Two years into an Arctic expedition, they were forced to abandon ship a thousand miles north of Siberia.
Historical Examples
After following Lake Barlee for nine miles, it turned to the southward.
Explorations in AustraliaJohn Forrest
After travelling about twenty miles, met the party coming all right.
Explorations in AustraliaJohn Forrest
Hope to reach Israelite Bay to-morrow, as it is only sixteen miles distant.
Explorations in AustraliaJohn Forrest
We have not seen any permanent water for the last eighty miles.
Explorations in AustraliaJohn Forrest
Continuing westerly for about ten miles, we reached the water, our bivouac on the 22nd.
Explorations in AustraliaJohn Forrest
Miles
- Bernard, Baron Miles of Blackfriars. 1907–91, British actor and theatre manager. He founded the Mermaid Theatre in London, and was known as a character actor
mile
- 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
- See nautical mile
- See Swedish mile
- any of various units of length used at different times and places, esp the Roman mile, equivalent to 1620 yards
- (often plural) informal a great distance; great dealhe missed by a mile
- a race extending over a mile
- miles (intensifier)he likes his new job miles better
Word Origin
Word Origin and History for miles
mile
n.
Old English mil, from West Germanic *milja (cf. Middle Dutch mile, Dutch mijl, Old High German mila, German meile), from Latin mila "thousands," plural of mille "a thousand" (neuter plural was mistaken in Germanic as a fem. singular), of unknown origin.
The Latin word also is the source of French mille, Italian miglio, Spanish milla. The Scandinavian words (Old Norse mila, etc.) are from English. An ancient Roman mile was 1,000 double paces (one step with each foot), for about 4,860 feet, but there were many local variants and a modern statute mile is about 400 feet longer. In Germany, Holland, and Scandinavia in the Middle Ages, the Latin word was applied arbitrarily to the ancient Germanic rasta, a measure of from 3.25 to 6 English miles. Mile-a-minute (adj.) "very fast" is attested from 1957.
mile
- A unit of length in the US Customary System, equal to 5,280 feet or 1,760 yards (about 1.61 kilometers). Also called statute mile
- See nautical mile. See Table at measurement.
Idioms and Phrases with miles
mile
In addition to the idioms beginning with mile
- mile a minute, a
- miles and miles
also see:
- miss by a mile
- miss is as good as a mile
- stick out (like a mile)