Liberal Dictionary English Dictionary
noun
- Also called statute mile. a unit of distance on land in English-speaking countries equal to 5280 feet, or 1760 yards (1.609 kilometers).
- nautical mile.
- international nautical mile.
- any of various other units of distance or length at different periods and in different countries.Compare Roman mile.
- a notable distance or margin: missed the target by a mile. Abbreviation: mi, mi.
noun
- Also called: statute mile a unit of length used in the UK, the US, and certain other countries, equal to 1760 yards. 1 mile is equivalent to 1.609 34 kilometres
- See nautical mile
- See Swedish mile
- any of various units of length used at different times and places, esp the Roman mile, equivalent to 1620 yards
- (often plural) informal a great distance; great dealhe missed by a mile
- a race extending over a mile
adverb
- miles (intensifier)he likes his new job miles better
n.Old English mil, from West Germanic *milja (cf. Middle Dutch mile, Dutch mijl, Old High German mila, German meile), from Latin mila “thousands,” plural of mille “a thousand” (neuter plural was mistaken in Germanic as a fem. singular), of unknown origin. The Latin word also is the source of French mille, Italian miglio, Spanish milla. The Scandinavian words (Old Norse mila, etc.) are from English. An ancient Roman mile was 1,000 double paces (one step with each foot), for about 4,860 feet, but there were many local variants and a modern statute mile is about 400 feet longer. In Germany, Holland, and Scandinavia in the Middle Ages, the Latin word was applied arbitrarily to the ancient Germanic rasta, a measure of from 3.25 to 6 English miles. Mile-a-minute (adj.) “very fast” is attested from 1957.
- A unit of length in the US Customary System, equal to 5,280 feet or 1,760 yards (about 1.61 kilometers). Also called statute mile
- See nautical mile. See Table at measurement.
In addition to the idioms beginning with mile
also see: