(~s)
Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English.
1.
A ~ is a unit of distance equal to 1760 yards or approximately 1.6 kilometres.
They drove 600 ~s across the desert...
The hurricane is moving to the west at about 18 ~s per hour...
She lives just half a ~ away...
...a 50-~ bike ride.
N-COUNT: num N
2.
Miles is used, especially in the expression ~s away, to refer to a long distance.
If you enrol at a gym that’s ~s away, you won’t be visiting it as often as you should...
I was ~s and ~s from anywhere...
N-PLURAL
3.
Miles or a ~ is used with the meaning ‘very much’ in order to emphasize the difference between two things or qualities, or the difference between what you aimed to do and what you actually achieved. (INFORMAL)
You’re ~s better than most of the performers we see nowadays...
With a Labour candidate in place they won by a ~...
The rehearsals were ~s too slow and no work was getting done.
N-COUNT: usu pl emphasis
4.
If you say that someone is ~s away, you mean that they are unaware of what is happening around them because they are thinking about something else. (INFORMAL)
What were you thinking about? You were ~s away.
PHRASE: v-link PHR
5.
If you say that someone is willing to go the extra ~, you mean that they are willing to make a special effort to do or achieve something.
The President is determined ‘to go the extra ~ for peace’.
PHRASE: V inflects
6.
If you say that you can see or recognize something a ~ off, you are emphasizing that it is very obvious and easy to recognize. (INFORMAL)
You can spot undercover cops a ~ off.
PHRASE: PHR after v emphasis
7.
If you say that someone would run a ~ when faced with a particular situation, you mean that they would be very frightened or unwilling to deal with it. (INFORMAL)
If anybody had told me when I first got married that I was going to have seven children, I would have run a ~...
PHRASE: V inflects
8.
If you say that something or someone sticks out a ~ or stands out a ~, you are emphasizing that they are very obvious and easy to recognize. (INFORMAL)
‘How do you know he’s Irish?’—‘Sticks out a ~.’...
PHRASE: V inflects emphasis