Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English - mile

~ n 1 a unit for measuring distance or length, equal to 1609 metres 2 the mile a race that is a mile in length  (the world record holder in the mile) 3 miles informal a very long distance  (We were miles from home, and very tired. | for miles (=for a very long distance))  (You can see for miles from the top of the hill. | miles from anywhere/nowhere (=a long way from the nearest town or city))  (They lived in a little cottage miles from nowhere.) 4 go the extra mile to try a little harder in order to achieve something, after you have already used a lot of effort  (Neither of the negotiating teams seems willing to go the extra mile.) 5 sth sticks out/stands out a mile also you can tell sth a mile away/off informal used to say that something is very clear from someone's appearance or behaviour  (It's obvious she's English - you can tell it a mile away.) 6 talk a mile a minute to speak very quickly without stopping 7 be miles away spoken to not be paying attention to anything that is happening around you  ("Kate!" "Sorry, I was miles away!") 8 miles older/better/too difficult etc BrE informal very much older, better, too difficult etc  (You're going out with John? But he's miles older than you!) 9 miles out BrE informal a measurement, guess, or calculation that is miles out is completely wrong  (- see also nautical mile, run a mile run1 (47), a miss is as good as a mile miss2 (8))