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mil

Definition, pronunciation, etymology, and usage for the English word. Free spelling reference powered by Wiktionary.

Letters

3 characters

Language

English

word origin

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Detailed reference entry for the English word "mil", 3-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Hunspell error dictionaries, and usage frequency ranked against the top 100,000 English words in the Wordfreq corpus. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "mil" includes synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and cross-language translation pointers sourced from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org extract. Whether you are verifying the correct spelling of "mil" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.

mil is aEnglishnoun. It means: An angular mil, a unit of angular measurement equal to ¹⁄₆₄₀₀ of a complete circle. At 1000 metres one mil subtends about one metre (0.98 m). Also ¹⁄₆₀₀₀ and ¹⁄₆₃₀₀ are used in other countries. Pronounced /mɪl/. Often confused with my and Mr.

Key facts for mil
PropertyValue
Headwordmil
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/mɪl/
Letters3
Frequency rank#10,579
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency rank visualization

Position of mil in English word frequency (lower rank = more common)

Source: Wordfreq corpus

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for mil is 3 letters long, classified as anoun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /mɪl/. Corpus data places it at rank #10,579 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it.Wiktionary records 6 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

No frequent misspelling variants are recorded for mil in our index, suggesting the orthography either follows predictable English patterns or the word is uncommon enough that typo corpora lack signal.It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "my", "Mr", "MS", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: Ultimately from Latin millesimum. The clippings come by way of the clipped words (e.g., millilitre, millimetre, milliradian). Root origin matters for spelling because borrowed morphemes (Greek, Latin, Old French, Old English) carry their source-language orthographic conventions into modern English, which is why historical etymology is often the cleanest predictor of whether a cluster like "-ough", "-eau", or "-tion" will appear. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct English form is mil, spelled M-I-L, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    An angular mil, a unit of angular measurement equal to ¹⁄₆₄₀₀ of a complete circle. At 1000 metres one mil subtends about one metre (0.98 m). Also ¹⁄₆₀₀₀ and ¹⁄₆₃₀₀ are used in other countries.
  2. 2
    A unit of measurement equal to ¹⁄₁₀₀₀ of an inch (25.4 µm), usually used for thin objects, such as sheets of plastic.
  3. 3
    A former subdivision (¹⁄₁₀₀₀) of the Maltese lira.
  4. 4
    Clipping of milliliter.
  5. 5
    Clipping of millimeter.
  6. 6
    Clipping of milliradian.

Etymology

Ultimately from Latin millesimum. The clippings come by way of the clipped words (e.g., millilitre, millimetre, milliradian).

This word in other languages

Frequency rank: #10,579 in English

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "mil"?
"mil" is spelled M-I-L. The IPA pronunciation is /mɪl/.
What does "mil" mean?
As a noun, "mil" means: An angular mil, a unit of angular measurement equal to ¹⁄₆₄₀₀ of a complete circle. At 1000 metres one mil subtends about one metre (0.98 m). Also ¹⁄₆₀₀₀ and ¹⁄₆₃₀₀ are used in other countries.
What words are commonly confused with "mil"?
"mil" is commonly confused with "my", "Mr", "MS". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "mil"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "mil" is /mɪl/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "mil"?
Ultimately from Latin millesimum. The clippings come by way of the clipped words (e.g., millilitre, millimetre, milliradian). See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Nearby English words

Other entries that begin with the letter M in our English index:

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Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Frequency data from Wordfreq. Misspellings derived from Hunspell dictionaries.