a Cypriot monetary unit equal to one thousandth of a pound
"The merchant calculated that the debt amounted to just a few mils when converted from pounds."
a Swedish unit of length equivalent to 10 km
"The ancient map marked the distance between the two cities in mils, indicating they were exactly ten kilometers apart."
a unit of length equal to one thousandth of an inch; used to specify thickness (e.g., of sheets or wire)
"The manufacturer specified that the copper sheet must be exactly five mils thick."
a metric unit of volume equal to one thousandth of a liter
"The recipe called for exactly three mils of liquid, which is just enough to fill the small measuring cup."
an angular unit used in artillery; equal to 1/6400 of a complete revolution
"The artillery officer adjusted his aim by five mils to correct the trajectory."
An angular mil, a unit of angular measurement equal to ¹⁄₆₄₀₀ of a complete circle. At 1000 metres one mil subtends about one metre (0.98 m). Also ¹⁄₆ₒ₀₀ and ¹⁄₆₃₀₀ are used in other countries.
"She told her daughter that she was going to visit her MIL tomorrow afternoon."
Initialism of mother-in-law.
In plain English: A mil is an extremely small unit of measurement used to describe very thin distances, often found on maps or technical drawings.
"The recipe calls for three mils of milk to make the batter smooth."
Usage: Use "mil" as the standard abbreviation for an angular milliradian, particularly in military and surveying contexts where it approximates one meter at every thousand meters of distance. Do not confuse this unit with a fluid ounce or other non-angular measurements when discussing angles or range estimation.
Abbreviation of Milwaukee.
"The package was shipped directly from mil to Chicago last week."
The word "mil" comes from the Latin millesimum, meaning thousandth. It entered English as a shortened form of metric units like milliliter and millimeter to describe very small measurements.