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Meaning & use

milage

noun·Everydayrare

Last updated

UK/ˈmaɪlɪdʒ/
US/ˈmaɪlɪdʒ/

“milage” is a form of “mileage”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.

Meanings

  1. noununcountablerare

    A less common spelling of mileage, meaning the number of miles a vehicle has traveled.

    Grammar: Treat it as an uncountable noun; the standard spelling is mileage.

    Patterns

    • high milage

    The used car had low milage for its age.

    Check the milage before you buy the truck.

    The odometer showed more milage than the seller claimed.

  2. noununcountablerare

    The distance a vehicle can go on a certain amount of fuel.

    Grammar: Used with fuel economy: good gas milage.

    Patterns

    • gas milage

    This hybrid gets excellent milage in city traffic.

    Poor tire pressure can hurt your milage.

    We compared the milage of two small cars.

  3. noununcountableinformalfigurativerare

    The amount of benefit or use you get out of something.

    Grammar: Informal figurative use: get a lot of milage out of something.

    Patterns

    • get milage out of something

    The comedian got a lot of milage out of that one joke.

    The company got plenty of milage from its old advertising slogan.

    There is not much milage in arguing about it.

Common combinations

gas milage
The new engine improves gas milage.
low milage
The car has low milage for its age.
high milage
A high milage truck can still run well.
get milage out of
He got a lot of milage out of that old suit.
milage allowance
The firm pays a milage allowance for business trips.

Synonyms and how they differ

mileage
Mileage is the standard spelling and the one to use in formal and published writing.
distance
Distance is general and need not relate to a vehicle's total or fuel use.
fuel economy
Fuel economy refers only to how far a car goes per gallon, which is one sense of mileage.
use
Use is a plain word for the benefit sense, and lacks the figurative flavor.

Word family

mileage noun
the standard spelling
mile noun
a unit of distance
odometer noun
the instrument that counts miles
milestone noun
a marker or key event

Commonly confused: milage or mileage? milage or millage?

milage vs mileage

Milage is a misspelling or very rare variant; the standard word keeps the e from mile.

milage vs millage

Millage is a different word meaning a property tax rate in some US states.

Practice

Which is the standard spelling of the word for the miles a car has traveled?

Make it your own

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