mileage

noun

mile·​age ˈmī-lij 

1

: an allowance for traveling expenses at a certain rate per mile

2

: aggregate length or distance in miles: such as

a

: the total miles traveled especially in a given period of time

b

: the amount of service that something will yield especially as expressed in terms of miles of travel

c

: the average number of miles a motor vehicle will travel on a gallon of gasoline that is used as a measure of fuel economy

gets good mileage

3

a

: usefulness

got a lot of mileage left in it

b

: benefit derived from something

got good political mileage from the debates

Synonyms

• use
• usefulness
• avail
• utility

Examples of mileage in a Sentence

a car with high mileage

My new car gets much better mileage than my old one did.

The company has gotten a lot of mileage out of a simple idea.

The movie gets a lot of mileage out of an old story.

Recent Examples on the Web

And the gas mileage, not great. —Laura Lane, USA Today, 12 Oct. 2025

The two infielders — who each have a lot of baseball mileage on their bodies — will turn 35 that year. —Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 Oct. 2025

The four-time league MVP, a 21-time All-NBA honoree and All-Star, has more mileage on him than anyone in league history. —Alex Kirschenbaum, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Oct. 2025

Cooper gets considerable humorous mileage out of his goofy stoner role, starting with a guffaw-inducing pratfall entrance involving an exploding carton of oat milk. —David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 10 Oct. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1724, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing mileage

• mileage allowance

Rhymes for mileage

• silage

Kids Definition

mileage

noun

mile·​age ˈmī-lij 

1

: an allowance for traveling expenses at a certain rate per mile

2

: distance or distance covered in miles

3

: the number of miles that something (as a tire) will travel before wearing out

4

: the average number of miles a vehicle will travel on a gallon of gasoline