mph

Everyday

Miles per hour: how many miles something travels in one hour; a unit of speed. tree →

In the lessons

Used on road signs and in car speed in the UK and the USA. In maths speed problems: speed = distance ÷ time. Phrases: a 30 mph zone, go at 60 mph.

Examples

• The speed limit near school is 20 mph. tree →
• The car was going at 60 mph. tree →
• A cheetah can run at about 70 mph. tree →
• At 30 mph, a car goes 30 miles in one hour. tree →
• The sign said 40 mph. tree →
• The train travelled 120 miles in 2 hours, so its speed was 60 mph. tree →

Note

Written in small letters, usually no full stops: mph. Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Ireland use km/h for road speeds. For numbers: distance = speed × time; at 50 mph for 3 hours you go 150 miles. 1 mile is about 1.6 km, so 60 mph is about 97 km/h.