NEW: English for Tech Bundle → Save 40%
Speak Tech English
Your progress…

Loading your progress…

Sign in to save progress
Home
Business idiomsidiom (verb phrase) · /ɡoʊ ði ˈɛkstrə maɪl/

go the extra mile

Sign in to hear it
In simple English

To exceed expectations by doing more than what was asked. Often used to describe someone who takes initiative and delivers exceptional work.

Someone wants to understand what 'go the extra mile' means when a manager or colleague uses it at work.

At a glanceCEFR B1–B2
Commonness
Versatility
FormalityCasualFormalNeutral
Spoken ↔ WrittenSpokenWrittenBoth
Directness ↔ DiplomaticDirectDiplomaticDiplomatic
Region

Say it like this

✓She really went the extra mile on that project.
✓I appreciate how you always go the extra mile for the team.
✓Thanks for going the extra mile to fix that bug before the release.
✓We need someone who's willing to go the extra mile.
✓He went the extra mile to help the new hire get set up.

Real examples

Standup

"Maria went the extra mile yesterday and fixed three related bugs while working on the main ticket."

Slack message

"Thanks for going the extra mile on the documentation — it really helps the whole team."

GitHub PR

"Great work here. You went the extra mile by adding tests for edge cases too."

Jira ticket

"The developer went the extra mile and included a performance optimization in this fix."

Retrospective

"I want to call out Jin for going the extra mile during the release — she stayed late to make sure everything was stable."

Sprint planning

"If we want to impress the client, we'll need to go the extra mile on the UI polish."

Pair programming

"Thanks for going the extra mile and walking me through the whole architecture."

Don't say this

✕He went extra mile to help me.
✓He went the extra mile to help me.— Always include 'the' before 'extra mile' — it's a fixed phrase.
✕She goes the extra miles for every project.
✓She goes the extra mile for every project.— 'Mile' stays singular in this idiom, even when used generally.
✕I will go the extra mile it tomorrow.
✓I will go the extra mile tomorrow.— Don't add 'it' — the phrase doesn't take a direct object like that.

Other forms

base form

go the extra mile

"We need to go the extra mile to finish on time."

past tense

went the extra mile

"She went the extra mile to help the client."

present continuous

going the extra mile

"Thanks for going the extra mile on this."

present simple (3rd person)

goes the extra mile

"He always goes the extra mile for his team."

Often used with

willing to go the extra mileShows readiness to put in extra effort
always goes the extra mileDescribes consistent extra effort
go the extra mile for someoneDo extra work to help a specific person
go the extra mile on somethingPut extra effort into a specific task or project
really went the extra mileEmphasizes impressive additional effort

Similar words

go above and beyondVery similar meaning, slightly more formal in some contexts
put in extra effortMore straightforward, less idiomatic
exceed expectationsMore formal, often used in performance reviews
go out of your wayEmphasizes inconvenience or sacrifice more than effort

Opposites

do the bare minimumphone it inslack offcut corners

More words

above and beyondtake initiativeexceed expectationsownershipproactivedeliver

Questions

Want more structured practice like this? Our English for Programmers course covers real workplace English in depth.

Sign in to mark this lesson complete and track it in your course progress.

Sign in

Sign in to collect badges as you complete lessons.

XLinkedIn
← Back to home