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miles per hour

miles per hour

98 1.7
A measure of speed showing how many miles you travel in one hour
  • noun
  • /maɪlz pər aʊər/
translation icon : millas por hora
  • The winds will build to 25 miles per hour; white-capped seas will surge and slap against the boats.
  • speed in miles per hour
  • 60 miles per hour
  • about miles per hour

OK, so we can all run a mile, at least one mile per hour.

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Examples

Synonyms

mph
vsmiles per hour
201 2.3

A measure of speed showing how many miles you travel in one hour

is the full written name spelled out in words rather than shortened
km/h
vsmiles per hour
9 1.7

A unit that shows how many kilometres a vehicle travels in one hour

uses miles instead of kilometers when measuring distance per hour
kilometers per hour
vsmiles per hour
  • US
8 2.4

The number of kilometers you travel in one hour

uses a different distance unit measured in miles rather than kilometers
kph
vsmiles per hour
  • Australian
7 2.7

The number of kilometres travelled in one hour

uses miles to count distance per hour rather than kilometers
kilometers per second
vsmiles per hour
4 4.1

A measure of speed that shows how many kilometers something moves in one second

uses hours as the time unit rather than seconds when measuring
km/s
vsmiles per hour
3.7

A speed equal to one kilometre per second

uses hours as the time unit rather than seconds for measuring speed

Surface Forms

Morphology

mile + per + hour

The meaning 'a unit of speed equal to the number of miles traveled in one hour' is directly compositional from 'mile' + 'per' + 'hour' because 'per' marks a rate and the phrase literally reads as miles in one hour. This is a standard measurement construction (e.g. 'kilometers per hour') and is cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents will readily infer the meaning.

Etymology

Miles per hour comes from a simple idea: count how many miles you travel in one hour. So it became the way to say 'speed', or how fast something moves.