# walk a mile in someone's shoes

idiom

Source: https://englishreference.com/idiom/walk-a-mile-in-someones-shoes
Updated: 2026-08-10

## Meaning

To experience what someone has experienced.

## Examples

- You should walk a mile in his shoes before you judge him.
- It is hard to understand her stress until you walk a mile in her shoes and manage the whole department.
- Before criticizing the difficult decisions made by the leader, one must attempt to walk a mile in their shoes to appreciate the complexity of the situation.

## Origin

From walk + a + mile + in + [possessive pronoun] + shoes. Originally, and still chiefly, found in admonitions not to judge a person until one has walked a mile in that person's shoes.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.