mile

A unit for measuring distance, equal to about 1.6 kilometres.

• The beach is a mile away.
• We walked three miles before lunch.
• How many miles can this car travel on one tank?

Common phrases: a mile away, per mile, square mile

A very long distance, without saying exactly how far.

• The shops are miles away.
• We seemed to walk for miles and miles.
• There wasn’t another house for miles around.

How to use it: miles from somewhere (The nearest hospital is miles from our village.)

Common phrases: mile after mile, a country mile

A unit used to measure distances at sea and in the air, equal to about 1.85 kilometres.

• A nautical mile is longer than a land mile.
• The ship stopped five nautical miles from the coast.
• The pilot reported a distance of twenty nautical miles.

Similar words: nautical mile

Common phrases: nautical mile, one nautical mile

A running race over about 1.6 kilometres, sometimes over 1,500 or 1,600 metres.

• She won the mile.
• He entered the mile at the school sports day.
• Who holds the fastest time for the mile?

Common phrases: run the mile, win the mile

A major street or road, often about 1.6 kilometres long, especially as part of its name.

• We walked along the Royal Mile.
• Their hotel overlooks Chicago’s Magnificent Mile.
• The Royal Mile was crowded with visitors that afternoon.

Common phrases: the royal mile, the magnificent mile