📏 A distance unit 😮 A large amount 🏃 A running race 🚢 A sea distance 🏛️ An old Roman unit 🇸🇪 A Swedish unit

mile

94 4.8

A very large difference when comparing two things

noun
/maɪl/

Informal

: gran diferencia

To impress her parents, he decided to go the extra mile with his presentation at the dinner.
go the extra mile
miles away

And we would range for miles and miles and miles.

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Examples

So I'm like really going the extra mile right now, but right here.
Actually, I feel like we could go the extra mile, you know?
They went the extra mile every time they got a chance.
Don't you feel sorry for him, thousands of miles away from his family?

Fiction book (1993)
Maybe they didn't know the smoke could be seen for miles.

Love Lies Bleeding (2024)
They won't go that extra mile and they're distracted.
She exceeded all expectations and went the extra mile to complete the project successfully.
The team went the extra mile to ensure their client's satisfaction with the service.

Idioms

a mile away

161 2.8

At a distance of one mile or very easy to notice

from a mile away

Informal

11 3.6

Easy to see or notice even from far away

mile a minute

Informal

8 3.9

Very quickly, often when someone talks or acts

to walk a mile in someone's shoes

Informal

7 4.9

Imagine being the other person to understand their feelings and situation

to take a mile

Informal

2 8.4

Use a small favor to get much more

to run a mile

Informal

2 7.1

Move away quickly to avoid something you are afraid of

give an inch and take a mile

Informal

1 7.3

Allowing a small favor makes someone try to take much more than you wanted

in for an inch, in for a mile

Informal

9.1

When you are already helping a little, keep going and do it completely even if it gets much bigger

Compounds

half mile

113 1.0

A distance equal to half a mile, about 800 metres

square mile

87 1.9

An area equal to a square with sides one mile long

quarter mile

49 2.5

A distance equal to one fourth of a mile, about 400 meters

nautical mile

Specialized

14 4.4

A distance of exactly 1,852 meters used for measuring sea and air travel

Mile High Club

NSFW

5 9.3

People who have had sex on an airplane during a flight

Mile-High City

3 4.4

A common name for Denver, the capital of Colorado, because it is about one mile above sea level

air mile

Specialized

2 3.2

A unit of distance used in flying that equals 1,852 meters

last mile

Specialized

2 4.1

The final part of bringing goods from a warehouse to the customer

sea mile

Archaic

1 9.6

An old British unit used at sea to measure distance equal to 6,000 feet

three-mile limit

Archaic

1 7.5

A line three miles from a country's coast that marks the sea it controls

statute mile

Specialized

1 3.0

A unit of distance equal to 5,280 feet or 1,609 meters

international mile

Specialized

1 3.0

A unit of length equal to 1,609.344 meters used in the United States and the United Kingdom

land mile

Specialized

1 2.0

A unit of length equal to 1,760 yards or 5,280 feet used on land

Roman mile

1 9.9

An ancient Roman unit of distance equal to about 1,480 meters

international nautical mile

Specialized

1 4.4

A unit of distance for ships and planes that equals 1,852 meters

last mile

Archaic

1 9.9

The final walk a prisoner takes to the place of execution

geographical mile

Archaic

1 8.9

An old British unit of length equal to 6,080 feet

survey mile

Specialized

1 7.5

A U.S. measure of distance equal to 1,609.347 meters used in land surveys

Swedish mile

1 9.3

A unit of length used in Sweden equal to 10 kilometers

Admiralty mile

Archaic

9.9

An old measure of distance used at sea that equals 6,080 feet, about 1,853 metres

How Big

by a long way

1 3.0

mile

Informal

94 4.8

by inches

Informal

14 4.5

Surface Forms

mile singular

miles plural

Etymology

Mile appears in the phrase by a mile to mean a very large distance or difference, because being off 'by a mile' paints the clear image of being far away. That's why we use 'by a mile' to say someone missed or led by a lot.