Miles explained

Miles are a unit of length commonly used in the United States and a few other countries. It is part of the Imperial system of measurement. The mile is often used for measuring long distances, such as roads and race tracks. It is also used in aviation and maritime contexts.

Symbol

The symbol for miles is mi.

Units of Length conversion table

Below is a conversion table for units of length in the Imperial system, with miles as one of the units.

Unit	Symbol	Description
League	lea	An older unit, larger than a mile, but not commonly used today.
Mile	mi	The statute mile is the standardized mile.
Furlong	fur	One-eighth of a mile, often used in horse racing.
Chain	ch	Used in surveying, equal to 66 feet.
Rod	rd	Also known as a pole, equal to 16.5 feet.
Yard	yd	Commonly used for measuring shorter distances, such as in sports.
Foot	ft	A base unit in the Imperial system for length.
Inch	in	The smallest unit in the Imperial system for length.

Origin

The mile originated from the Roman "mille passus," meaning a thousand paces. This was later adapted into the English mile, which was standardized to be exactly 1760 yards or 5280 feet.

Interesting Facts

Miles are commonly used for measuring road distances in countries like the United States and the United Kingdom. They appear on road signs, maps, and GPS devices to indicate distances between locations. In aviation and maritime navigation, nautical miles—closely related to the mile—are preferred for their accuracy in representing distances on the Earth's curved surface. But statute miles may also appear in certain contexts, such as coastal navigation or historical references.

Miles are also widely recognized in sports, particularly in running events like marathons, where the standard marathon distance is approximately 26.2 miles. Additionally, the term "mile" has cultural significance and is often used metaphorically to describe significant achievements or long distances.

Statute miles vs U.S. survey miles vs Roman miles

The statute mile is the standardized mile used in most land-based measurements, especially in the United States and the United Kingdom. It was established in 1592 by Queen Elizabeth I, who defined it as eight furlongs

The U.S. survey mile is a slightly longer version of the mile used historically in land surveying in the United States. The U.S. survey mile is longer by about 3.2 millimeters (or 1/8 inch) per mile due to its reliance on the "survey foot"

The Roman mile (mille passus) was a historical unit of length used during the Roman Empire. It measures approximately 5,000 Roman feet or about 4,854 modern feet (1,479 meters).

Convert miles to other length units

In this section, you find an overview of all conversions from miles to other length units available on this website.