mileage

noun

mile·​age ˈmī-lij How to pronounce mileage (audio)
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

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 Trump also relaxed air pollution and mileage regulations. Nathaniel Meyersohn, CNN, 28 Sep. 2023 For those folks and others with a Steam Deck, your mileage may vary on double dipping. Gene Park, Washington Post, 9 Nov. 2023 In good condition and with relatively low mileage, the car looked like a steal at $8,000. Ash-Har Quraishi, Amy Corral, Chris Hacker, CBS News, 17 Oct. 2023 The weather may also influence your route and mileage. Kells McPhillips, Fortune Well, 8 Oct. 2023 Bikers who compete in the Rebecca’s Private Idaho three-segment stage race ride this route on the first day (with additional mileage tacked on from the Galena Lodge’s mountain bike trail system). Cindy Hirschfeld, New York Times, 4 Oct. 2023 By the time oil prices started rising and consumers had less money to spend after the Great Recession, foreign automakers were better suited to meet demands from consumers craving better gas mileage and ways to stop being so reliant on it. Kate Aronoff, The New Republic, 5 Oct. 2023 Riders looking for the extra challenge of lung-busting elevation gain and high mileage can explore the region northwest of Fort Collins, where routes like Pennock Pass to Old Flowers climb steadily from the foothills into remote mountain landscapes. Cindy Hirschfeld, New York Times, 4 Oct. 2023 If nothing else, give Marvel credit for extracting this much mileage from a character who wound up on the very wrong end of a fight with Thanos way back in 2018. Brian Lowry, CNN, 3 Oct. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'mileage.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1724, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of mileage was in 1724

Dictionary Entries Near mileage

Cite this Entry

“Mileage.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mileage. Accessed 8 Dec. 2023.

Kids Definition

mileage

noun
mile·​age ˈmī-lij How to pronounce mileage (audio)
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

More from Merriam-Webster on mileage

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