miles per hour
noun · n
Simple meaning
The ratio of the distance traveled to the time spent traveling.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
mylzpurowerSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈmaɪlzˈpɝˈaʊɚ
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
The ratio of the distance traveled (in miles) to the time spent traveling (in hours)
A speedometer reading for the momentary rate of travel
n
mphm.p.h.or mi/h
A British imperial and United States customary unit of speed expressing the number of miles travelled in one hour.
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: The ratio of the distance traveled (in miles) to the time spent traveling (in hours)
Used this way, miles per hour is a specialist word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. This sense is about measurement, so it is used where accuracy is the point.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Specialist/technical
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Specialized
- Connotation
- Clinical and technical
- Usage feel
- Technical and specialized
Where it naturally appears
- Technical/specialist writing
- Academic writing
Usage note
In general conversation this sense usually needs explaining — outside its field, people reach for a plainer word.
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.