mile
English meaning: Mile
Definition
The international mile: a unit of length precisely equal to 1.609344 kilometers established by treaty among Anglophone nations in 1959, divided into 5,280 feet or 1,760 yards.
Example
“The nearest town is about a mile down this road.”
Another example: “He trained hard to run a sub-four-minute mile.”
Usage — When, Where & How
Standard unit of distance (about 1.6 km) used in the US, UK and a few other countries for road distances and running. Many compound forms exist (nautical mile, square mile). Figuratively, 'miles' means 'a great deal'.
Etymology & Origin
English — Origin & History
From Latin milia passuum 'a thousand paces', via Old English mil, dating to before the 10th century.
Synonyms
- knot
- nautical mile
- air mile
- sea mile
- statute mile
- geographical mile
- admiralty mile
- land mile
- naut mi
- stat mi
Related Words
Common Collocations
- square mile
- nautical mile
- mile marker
- four-minute mile
- miles away
- go the extra mile
Word Forms
mile (n); miles
Word Tools
Tools & Calculators
Literary Heritage
“To thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man.”
/To thine own self be true/
“Be honest with yourself — and as naturally as night follows day, you will be unable to be false to others.”
“I'm nobody! Who are you? Are you nobody, too?”
/I'm nobody! Who are you?/
“I am nobody — and that quiet anonymity is more honest than the noise of public fame.”
Images
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Language information
- Language
- English
- English
- Script
- Latin
- Family
- Indo-European
- Speakers
- 1.5B