verb phrase🎓 English idiom

go the extra mile

to make an extra effort

What it means

To make more effort than is required or expected in order to achieve something or help someone. It conveys a willingness to do extra work for a better result.

Examples

  • Our teachers go the extra mile to make sure no student falls behind.
  • If you go the extra mile for customers, they will remember and return.
  • She always goes the extra mile, staying late to polish every detail.
  • Going the extra mile on this project could really impress the clients.

Where it comes from

From a passage in the Gospel of Matthew advising that if compelled to walk one mile, one should willingly walk two.

Related idioms

#bend over backwards#leave no stone unturned#no pain, no gain#burn the midnight oil

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