Miles

//maɪlz// adv, name, noun, slang

adv, name, noun, slang ·Moderate ·High school level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    plural of mile form-of, plural
  2. 2
    A great distance in space or time. informal

    "His final shot missed the bullseye by miles."

Adverb
  1. 1
    much; a lot (used to emphasise a comparative) not-comparable

    "Her new paintings are miles better than her older ones."

Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A male given name from an uncertain origin. countable, uncountable

    "Clad in doublet and hose, and boots of Cordovan leather, / Strode, with a martial air, Miles Standish the Puritan Captain."

  2. 2
    A surname originating as a patronymic. countable, uncountable
  3. 3
    A number of places in the United States:; A minor city in Jackson County, Iowa. countable, uncountable
  4. 4
    A number of places in the United States:; An unincorporated community in Orange County, North Carolina. countable, uncountable
  5. 5
    A number of places in the United States:; A township in Centre County, Pennsylvania. countable, uncountable
Show 6 more definitions
  1. 6
    A number of places in the United States:; A minor city in Runnels County, Texas. countable, uncountable
  2. 7
    A number of places in the United States:; An unincorporated community in Mathews County, Virginia. countable, uncountable
  3. 8
    A number of places in the United States:; An unincorporated community in Lincoln County, Washington. countable, uncountable
  4. 9
    A number of places in the United States:; An unincorporated community in Pendleton County, West Virginia. countable, uncountable
  5. 10
    A number of places in the United States:; An unincorporated community in the town of Porterfield, Marinette County, Wisconsin. countable, uncountable
  6. 11
    A town in Western Downs Region, Queensland, Australia. countable, uncountable

Synonyms

All synonyms
admiralty mileair milegeographical mileimperial systeminternational mileinternational nautical mile

Example

More examples

"You can see for miles from the roof."

Etymology

From Old French given name Milo, of problematic origin, possibly from an unknown Germanic element, or a short form of Slavic names beginning with mil- "grace, favor". The English form is associated by folk etymology with Latin mīles (“soldier”). As a surname, it is also derived from a Middle English Miles form of Michael.

Related phrases

Miles City

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.