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

mile

152 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

79 2.8

At a distance of one mile or very easy to notice

from a mile away

Informal

6 3.6

Easy to see or notice even from far away

mile a minute

Informal

5 3.9

Very quickly, often when someone talks or acts

to take a mile

Informal

1 8.4

Use a small favor to get much more

to run a mile

Informal

1 7.1

Move away quickly to avoid something you are afraid of

give an inch and take a mile

Informal

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

to walk a mile in someone's shoes

Informal

4.9

Imagine being the other person to understand their feelings and situation

Compounds

square mile

84 1.9

An area equal to a square with sides one mile long

half mile

48 1.0

A distance equal to half a mile, about 800 metres

quarter mile

32 2.5

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

nautical mile

Specialized

11 4.4

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

Mile High Club

NSFW

2 9.3

People who have had sex on an airplane during a flight

air mile

Specialized

1 3.2

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

last mile

Specialized

1 4.1

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

three-mile limit

Archaic

1 7.5

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

Admiralty mile

Archaic

9.9

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

land mile

Specialized

2.0

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

last mile

Archaic

9.9

The final walk a prisoner takes to the place of execution

Mile-High City

4.4

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

geographical mile

Archaic

8.9

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

international mile

Specialized

3.0

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

international nautical mile

Specialized

4.4

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

Roman mile

9.9

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

sea mile

Archaic

9.6

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

survey mile

Specialized

7.5

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

Swedish mile

9.3

A unit of length used in Sweden equal to 10 kilometers

statute mile

Specialized

3.0

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

How Big

by a long way

1 3.0

mile

Informal

152 4.8

by inches

Informal

11 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.