Meaning & use
gas mileage
Last updated
Meaning
noununcountableAmerican
The distance a vehicle can travel on a given amount of fuel, usually expressed in miles per gallon.
Grammar: No plural; used with words like good, bad, high, low: The car has good gas mileage.
Patterns
- good/bad gas mileage
- gas mileage of a car
- improve gas mileage
My new car gets much better gas mileage than my old one.
Before buying a used truck, check its gas mileage.
The gas mileage drops sharply when you drive with a heavy load.
Common combinations
- get good gas mileage
- Small hybrids usually get good gas mileage in city traffic.
- improve gas mileage
- Keeping your tires properly inflated can improve gas mileage.
- poor gas mileage
- The old van is known for poor gas mileage.
- gas mileage rating
- The sticker shows the official gas mileage rating for the model.
Synonyms and how they differ
- fuel economy
- A more formal term used in advertising and government tests; it sounds technical, while 'gas mileage' is the everyday phrase in the US.
- fuel efficiency
- Focuses on how well fuel is used rather than the distance number; it can apply to engines and heating too, not just cars.
Word family
- gas guzzler noun
- Informal term for a vehicle that uses a lot of fuel.
Commonly confused: gas mileage or mileage?
gas mileage vs mileage
Mileage alone means the total number of miles a vehicle has traveled; gas mileage is specifically about fuel use.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'gas mileage' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Gas mileage' is uncountable and usually goes with 'get' or 'have': gets good gas mileage. 'Has a good gas mileage' is wrong because of the article, and 'makes/does gas mileage' are not natural collocations.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “gas mileage”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.