air milen.
/ˈɛː mʌɪl/, U.S. /ˈɛr ˌmaɪl/ 1. A nautical mile used as a measure of distance flown by aircraft.
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the world > relative properties > measurement > measurement of length > [noun] > units of length or distance > mile > nautical mile
geometrical1597
maritime mile1632
geometric1670
nautical mile1730
knot1748
nautic mile1762
sea-mile1796
air mile1919
1919 Sphere 6 Dec. p. viii/1 Fifteen hundred air miles at 107 m.p.h.
1945 Yorks. Post 19 Apr. 1/1 Nulde, 20 air miles east of Amsterdam.
1995 Clothes Show Mag. Feb. 11/1 Models who clock up thousands of air miles every year are well-versed in the need to moisturise during a flight to prevent complexion dehydration.
2. In plural. With capital initials. A proprietary name for: a consumer incentive scheme whereby points accumulated with qualifying transactions are redeemable against the cost of travel and leisure services (originally and esp. airline tickets); points collected under this scheme.
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1982 N.Y. Times 25 Nov. d2/2 American teamed up with Holland America, the cruise ship line, so that a traveler can get air miles floating at sea.
1991 Incentive Today Oct. 29/1 Disinformation abounded based on rumours that Air Miles could only be used off-peak or when obscure routes were desperate to fill seats.
1994 Investors Chron. 28 Jan. (PEP Suppl.) 38/2 (advt.) Invest the full £6,000 before 5th April 1994 and we'll give you 600 Air Miles vouchers—that's enough for a free return flight to Paris.
2000 H. Simpson Hey yeah right get Life 67 Donna..hopes to fly to Tonga for a seafood feast on the night, if she can sort out the trouble with the Air Miles people.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2008; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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n.1919