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

Wear the pieces together or mix and match them with the rest of your travel wardrobe to get even more mileage from the set. — Lauren Dana Ellman, Travel + Leisure, 14 Aug. 2026

Young collectors rarely drive the cars, to avoid adding mileage, dealers say. — Robert Frank, CNBC, 13 Aug. 2026

Standard-mileage examples often fetch anywhere between $400,000 and $600,000 on the market. — New Atlas, 11 Aug. 2026

CarMax has several low-mileage F-150 Lightning models for sale, including Lariat trims, not just Pro base models. — Charles Singh, USA Today, 11 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