mile S1 W1 /maɪl/
noun [countable][
Language: Old English;
Origin: mil, from Latin milia passum 'thousands of paces']
1. (
written abbreviation m) a unit for measuring distance, equal to 1,760
yards or about 1,609 metres:
It’s forty miles from here to the Polish border. an area 50 miles wide and 150 miles long We walked about half a mile. He was driving at 70 miles per hour.2. the mile a race that is a mile in length:
the first man to run the mile in under four minutes3. miles informal a very long distance
miles from We were miles from home, and very tired.miles away You can’t go to Portsmouth, it’s miles away.for miles You can see for miles from here. They lived in a little cottage miles from anywhere (=a long way from the nearest town).4. go the extra mile to try a little harder in order to achieve something, after you have already used a lot of effort:
The president expressed his determination to go the extra mile for peace.5. stick out/stand out a mile informal to be very easy to see or notice:
It sticks out a mile that you’re new here.6. can see/spot/tell something a mile off informal if you can see something a mile off, it is very easy to notice:
You can tell a mile off that he likes you.7. be miles away spoken to not be paying attention to anything that is happening around you:
‘Kate!’ ‘Sorry, I was miles away!’8. miles older/better/too difficult etc British English informal very much older, better, too difficult etc
Synonym : loads:
The second film’s miles better.9. by a mile informal by a very large amount:
He was the best player on the pitch by a mile.10. miles out British English informal a measurement, guess, or calculation that is miles out is completely wrong
11. join the mile high club informal to have sex in a plane
⇒
nautical mile, ⇒
run a mile at
run1(38)
[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲