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 of mileage

• 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

Cinema has lately exhausted the emotional mileage of the Ukraine–EU border, but one wittily choreographed setpiece involving the couple’s border crossing finds in transition an ingenious point of convergence between gender and geography. — Sonya Vseliubska, IndieWire, 7 Aug. 2026

Sounds like heaven to me, but your security posture mileage may vary! — Davey Winder, Forbes.com, 6 Aug. 2026

Depending on how far individual drivers actually get in the real world, that type of mileage may very well outlast the driver and passengers' will to drive continuously in a vehicle, hour upon hour, particularly after a fuel stop or two. — New Atlas, 6 Aug. 2026

Common business expenses that can be tax deductible include employee wages and benefits, office rent and utilities, business insurance, equipment and supplies, and vehicle mileage. — Faith Wakefield, USA Today, 3 Aug. 2026

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