mil

Everyday

1. A mil is a very small unit of thickness, one thousandth of an inch, used for plastic, wire and paper. tree →
2. In some old books mil is a short word for a thousand or for a millilitre. tree →
3. In informal talk «mil» can mean a million (dollars). tree →

In the lessons

rare in school problems; when it appears it is a unit after a number; in everyday life seen on trash bags and plastic sheets; in money talk «a mil» is slang for a million

Examples

• The plastic sheet is 4 mils thick. tree →
• A thick trash bag is 3 mil. tree →
• The wire is 10 mils wide. tree →
• A mil is much thinner than a millimetre. tree →
• The film star earned two mil, he said. tree →
• Check the box: the bags are 2 mil thick. tree →

Note

A unit word; check from the story what it means. Usually it carries no operation clue. Trap: do not read it as «mile» or «million» unless the story says so. 1000 mils = 1 inch.