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

• account
• avail
• service
• serviceability
• serviceableness
• use
• usefulness
• 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

Instead, the engine can recharge the battery, working as a small generator to give it extra mileage on the go. —Aarian Marshall, WIRED, 3 Nov. 2024

Zoom out: The slip-up comes after Democrats had already been getting considerable mileage out of Johnson's recent comments about the Affordable Care Act. —Andrew Solender, Axios, 2 Nov. 2024

That’s a fairly typical review day for me, but as with any gadget, your mileage will vary. —Quentyn Kennemer, The Verge, 5 Oct. 2024

Your total yearly mileage helps the IRS calculate your business miles, so be sure to document it. —Karla Dennis, Forbes, 1 Nov. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1724, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing mileage

• mileage allowance

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