go the extra mile
/ˈɡəʊ ði ˈɛk.stɹə ˈmaɪl/
"go-the-extra-mile" is a 14-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“go the extra mile” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 17
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To make an extra effort; to do a particularly good job.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | go the extra mile |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /ˈɡəʊ ði ˈɛk.stɹə ˈmaɪl/ |
| Letters | 17 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “go the extra mile” sits in English frequency
Rare enough to double-check
go the extra mile is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb, transcribed /ˈɡəʊ ði ˈɛk.stɹə ˈmaɪl/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "To make an extra effort; to do a particularly good job.".
Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for go the extra mile, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: * Possibly from the gospel of Matthew ch.5: v.41 *: "And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain." The correct English form is go the extra mile, spelled G-O- -T-H-E- -E-X-T-R-A- -M-I-L-E.
Definition
- 1To make an extra effort; to do a particularly good job.
Etymology
* Possibly from the gospel of Matthew ch.5: v.41 *: "And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain."
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Using “go the extra mile”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is G-O- -T-H-E- -E-X-T-R-A- -M-I-L-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈɡəʊ ði ˈɛk.stɹə ˈmaɪl/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.