Meanings
- CanadaUSidiomaticoftencomputingIt may work differently in your situation, or be different in your experience.
The battery lasts a day in my phone, but your mileage may vary.
4 more examples
When that definition is executed, the metadata for the temporary table is put into your schema (most likely—your mileage may vary), but no space is allocated to hold data.
1993, Jim Melton, Alan R. Simon, “Basic Data Definition Language (DDL)”, in Understanding the New SQL: A Complete Guide, San Francisco, Calif.: Morgan Kaufmann Publishers, →ISBN, section 4.3.4 (Temporary Tables), page 74In other words, your mileage may vary and my disk-size figures are just estimates provided for your convenience.
1994, Bob LeVitus, Macintosh System 7.5 for Dummies (For Dummies), San Mateo, Calif.: IDG Books, →ISBN, page 328We pause here to emphasize that with animals, there are no absolutes. […] We like to say that with any given wolf or dog, "your mileage may vary."
2012, Jessica Addams, Andrew Miller, “Modern Wolf Mythology: The Things that ‘Everyone Knows’”, in Between Dog and Wolf: Understanding the Connection and the Confusion, Wenatchee, Wash.: Dogwise Publishing, →ISBNMallory Ortberg: […] The advice game is the ultimate your-mileage-may-vary exercise—do you have a feeling for when someone is looking for (or needs) a gentle smack to return them to their senses, a bit of empathy, a dose of humor? It’s a tricky balance, I think, between writing something entertaining for your many readers and trying to be genuinely helpful to the original writer.
2015 November 12, Daniel Mallory Ortberg, Emily Yoffe, “Dear Prudie, from Prudie: Emily Yoffe’s advice to her successor, Mallory Ortberg”, in Slate, archived from the original on 07 Feb 2018Synonyms: YMMV, your mileage may differ, YMMD
- CanadaUSidiomaticUsed to express a possible difference in taste: this is just my opinion, your opinion may be different.
I think that red dress looks really good on you, but your mileage may vary, of course.
2 more examples
Your mileage may vary when it comes to the over-the-top carnage and in-your-face machismo, but it’s impressive just how bonkers Fate [The Fate of the Furious] is, like a litter of kittens hopped up on grade-A catnip.
2017 April 12, Brian Truitt, “Review: ‘Fate’ is furious enough to excite the faithful”, in USA Today, archived from the original on 06 Sep 2018The privatization of luxury space in planes, trains and automobiles have certainly enhanced our ability to keep to ourselves on the road (see the rise of personal pods at airports for a recent example of the lengths people will go to for solitude). And as those spaces get increasingly automated, human interaction is becoming increasingly limited (although your mileage may vary as to how much you really enjoy that interaction with customs or gate agents).
2018 August 31, Leslie Wu, “Mobile Hotel Rooms are the New Home away from Home”, in Forbes, archived from the original on 01 Sep 2018
Synonyms & antonyms
phraseIt may work differently in your situation, or be different in your experience.
Origin
The United States Environmental Protection Agency requires all new vehicles to undergo a set of standard emissions tests which simulate city and highway driving. Part of the test measures estimated city and highway gas (petrol) mileage estimates. Since no test can exactly simulate all driving habits and conditions, the actual gas mileage of each vehicle will vary. As a result, when these estimated mileage claims from automobile manufacturers appear in advertisements, they are almost always accompanied with the standard disclaimer “your mileage may vary”.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Catalan és només la meva opinió
- és només la meva opinióthis is just my opinion — see also there's no accounting for taste
Chinese Mandarin 見仁見智 /见仁见智
- 見仁見智 /见仁见智 (jiànrénjiànzhì)this is just my opinion — see also there's no accounting for taste
Czech možná to máte jinak, myslím si aspoň já
- možná to máte jinakit may work differently in your situation
- myslím si aspoň játhis is just my opinion — see also there's no accounting for taste
- proti gustuthis is just my opinion — see also there's no accounting for taste
Finnish sinun tilanteestasi en osaa sanoa, tämä on vain minun mielipiteeni
- sinun tilanteestasi en osaa sanoait may work differently in your situation
- tämä on vain minun mielipiteenithis is just my opinion — see also there's no accounting for taste
French ce n'est que mon avis, des goûts et des couleurs, on ne discute pas
- ce n'est que mon avisthis is just my opinion — see also there's no accounting for taste
- des goûts et des couleurs, on ne discute pasthis is just my opinion — see also there's no accounting for taste
German meiner Meinung nach
- meiner Meinung nachthis is just my opinion — see also there's no accounting for taste
Greek ίσως να δουλεύει διαφορετικά για εσένα, αυτή είναι απλά η γνώμη μου
- ίσως να δουλεύει διαφορετικά για εσένα (ísos na doulévei diaforetiká gia eséna)it may work differently in your situation
- αυτή είναι απλά η γνώμη μου (aftí eínai aplá i gnómi mou)this is just my opinion — see also there's no accounting for taste
Hebrew זו רק דעתי
- זו רק דעתי (zo rak da'ati)this is just my opinion — see also there's no accounting for taste
Hungarian ez mindenkinél másként/máshogy/máshogyan van/működik (persze), ízlések és pofonok
- ez mindenkinél másként/máshogy/máshogyan van/működik (persze)it may work differently in your situation
- ízlések és pofonokthis is just my opinion — see also there's no accounting for taste
- kinek a pap, kinek a papnéthis is just my opinion — see also there's no accounting for taste
- nem vagyunk egyformákthis is just my opinion — see also there's no accounting for taste
- ez csak az én véleményemthis is just my opinion — see also there's no accounting for taste
- lehet, hogy te másként látodthis is just my opinion — see also there's no accounting for taste
Polish to tylko moje zdanie
- to tylko moje zdaniethis is just my opinion — see also there's no accounting for taste
Romanian e posibil să fie diferit în cazul tău
- e posibil să fie diferit în cazul tăuit may work differently in your situation
Russian э́то мо́жет срабо́тать у тебя́ по-друго́му, э́то то́лько моё мне́ние
- э́то мо́жет срабо́тать у тебя́ по-друго́му (éto móžet srabótatʹ u tebjá po-drugómu)it may work differently in your situation
- э́то то́лько моё мне́ние (éto tólʹko mojó mnénije)this is just my opinion — see also there's no accounting for taste
Spanish podría funcionar diferentemente para ti, tu experiencia puede variar
- podría funcionar diferentemente para tiit may work differently in your situation
- tu experiencia puede variarit may work differently in your situation
- es solo mi opiniónthis is just my opinion — see also there's no accounting for taste
Cite this entry
your mileage may vary. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/your%20mileage%20may%20vary
“your mileage may vary.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/your%20mileage%20may%20vary. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “your mileage may vary,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/your%20mileage%20may%20vary.
Source: your mileage may vary on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.