mile

Universal Words noun 1 [C] a unit for measuring distance equal to 1609 metres or 1760 YARDS: a 20-mile drive to work * an area of four square miles * a mile-long procession * The nearest bank is about half a mile down the road. * We did about 30 miles a day on our cycling trip. * The car must have been doing at least 100 miles an hour. * My car does 35 miles to the gallon. seealsoMPH, NAUTICALMILE 2 (miles) [pl.] a large area or a long distance: miles and miles of desert * There isn't a house for miles around here. * I'm not walking-it's miles away. 3 [C,usually pl.] (informal) very much; far: I'm feeling miles better today, thanks. * I'm miles behind with my work. * She's taller than you by a mile. 4 (the mile) [sing.] a race over one mile: He ran the mile in less than four minutes. * a four-minute mile IDIOMS be miles away (informal) to be thinking deeply about sth and not aware of what is happening around you go the extra mile (for sb/sth) to make a special effort to achieve sth, help sb, etc. miles from anywhere (informal) in a place that is a long way from a town and surrounded only by a lot of open country, sea, etc: We broke down miles from anywhere. run a mile (from sb/sth) (informal) to show that you are very frightened of doing sth see, spot, tell, smell, etc. sth a mile off (informal) to see or realize sth very easily and quickly: He's wearing a wig-you can see it a mile off. * After twenty years in the police she could smell a liar a mile off. stand / stick out a mile to be very obvious or noticeable: It stood out a mile that she was lying. moreatINCHn.