Meaning & use
mile
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Meanings
nouncountable
A unit of distance equal to 1,760 yards or about 1.609 kilometers.
Grammar: Countable: one mile, two miles. Used mainly in the US and UK.
Patterns
- a mile
- miles from somewhere
- miles per hour
The nearest town is ten miles away.
He walks three miles every morning.
The speed limit is 60 miles per hour.
nounsingular
A great distance or a lot of progress.
Grammar: Used in phrases like 'miles better' or 'miles apart' to mean a very large amount.
Patterns
- miles better
- miles apart
- miles away
This restaurant is miles better than the last one.
Their opinions are miles apart.
She's miles away from finishing the project.
Word forms
| plural | miles |
|---|
Common combinations
- square mile
- The city covers about 50 square miles.
- mile marker
- We stopped at the next mile marker.
- go the extra mile
- She always goes the extra mile for her customers.
- a mile a minute
- He talks a mile a minute.
Synonyms and how they differ
- kilometer
- Use 'kilometer' in most countries outside the US and UK; 'mile' is longer.
Word family
- mileage noun
- The number of miles traveled or the distance covered.
- miler noun
- A runner or horse that races over a distance of one mile.
Commonly confused: mile or meal?
mile vs meal
A meal is food eaten at a particular time; a mile is a unit of distance.
Practice
Choose the correct sentence:
Choose one answer.
'Miles' is the plural form used after numbers, and 'from' is the correct preposition to show distance. 'Mile' without -s is wrong after 'five', and 'of' or 'at' do not fit here.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “mile”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.