# mil

Pronunciation: say "MIL" /mɪl/

## Noun

1. Clipping of million. *(colloquial)* — Clipping of million.
   - Simple: Clipping of million. A short, casual way to say a million, often about money.
   - _The contract was reportedly worth three mil._
   - _He figured he'd need at least two mil to buy out his partners._
2. Clipping of milliliter. *(colloquial, US)* — Clipping of milliliter.
   - Simple: Clipping of milliliter. A short way to say milliliter when measuring liquids.
   - _Each dose contains five mil of liquid._
   - _She measured out 30 mils of the solution._
3. Clipping of millimeter. *(colloquial, US)* — Clipping of millimeter.
   - Simple: Clipping of millimeter. A short way to say millimeter when measuring length.
   - _The bolt takes a ten mil socket, not a half-inch one._
   - _The drill bits in this set run from two mil up to ten._
4. A unit of length equal to one thousandth of an inch (25.4 micrometers), usually used for thin objects such as sheets of plastic.
   - Simple: A length equal to one thousandth of an inch, used to measure very thin things like plastic sheets.
   - _The drop cloth measures four mil, thick enough to resist punctures._
   - _Anti-corrosion coatings on the pipes were specified at three mil._
6. A unit of angular measurement equal to ¹⁄₆₄₀₀ of a complete circle, spanning roughly one meter at a distance of 1000 meters.
   - Simple: A way to measure small angles, equal to one part in 6400 of a full circle.
   - _Artillery crews shifted their aim three mil to the right._
   - _A target one meter wide at 1000 meters covers about one mil._
7. Clipping of milliradian. *(colloquial)* — Clipping of milliradian.
   - Simple: Clipping of milliradian. A short way to say milliradian when aiming or measuring small angles.
   - _Hold one mil low for the closer target._
   - _He adjusted his scope by four mils for elevation._
8. A former unit of currency equal to one thousandth of the Maltese lira.
   - Simple: An old money unit worth one thousandth of a Maltese lira.
   - _Her grandmother kept a single mil as a keepsake._
   - _Street vendors once quoted their prices in mils._

## Adjective

5. Clipping of military. — Clipping of military
   - Simple: Clipping of military. A short way to say military, usually before another word.
   - _The contractor supplies mil grade cabling to the navy._
   - _Collectors prize old mil radios from the war years._

## Origin

**Meanings 2–4, 6–8** — Ultimately from Latin "millesimum," arriving as a clipping of longer words such as "millilitre," "millimetre," and "milliradian."
**Meaning 1** — A clipping of "million."
**Meaning 5** — A clipping of "military."

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/mil (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).