nautical mile
noun
: any of various units of distance used for sea and air navigation based on the length of a minute of arc of a great circle of the earth and differing because the earth is not a perfect sphere: such as
a
: a British unit equal to 6080 feet (1853.2 meters)
b
: an international unit equal to exactly 1852 meters (6076.115 feet or 1.15 statute miles) used officially in the U.S. since July 1, 1954
Examples of nautical mile in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The Spanish coast guard said the boat carrying the pregnant mother had embarked from Tan-Tan, a province in Morocco about 135 nautical miles southeast of Lanzarote.
—
Fox News, 9 Jan. 2025
Vessels will be required to stay at least 12 nautical miles from the baseline in these areas during stormy conditions and to monitor meteorological station data before entering.
—David Nikel, Forbes, 9 Jan. 2025
Already, there has been a moratorium on off-shore leases in state of California waters since 1969 – typically within 3 nautical miles off the coast – and the last federal lease sale in the area was in 1984, Brown said.
—Laylan Connelly, Orange County Register, 7 Jan. 2025
The Outer Continental Shelf encompasses the coastal waters of the U.S. and its territories — broadly covering areas up to 200 nautical miles from land, according to the Department of the Interior.
—Brendan Rascius, Miami Herald, 7 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for nautical mile 
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Fox News, 9 Jan. 2025
Vessels will be required to stay at least 12 nautical miles from the baseline in these areas during stormy conditions and to monitor meteorological station data before entering.
—David Nikel, Forbes, 9 Jan. 2025
Already, there has been a moratorium on off-shore leases in state of California waters since 1969 – typically within 3 nautical miles off the coast – and the last federal lease sale in the area was in 1984, Brown said.
—Laylan Connelly, Orange County Register, 7 Jan. 2025
The Outer Continental Shelf encompasses the coastal waters of the U.S. and its territories — broadly covering areas up to 200 nautical miles from land, according to the Department of the Interior.
—Brendan Rascius, Miami Herald, 7 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for nautical mile
Articles Related to nautical mile
Dictionary Entries Near nautical mile
Cite this Entry
“Nautical mile.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nautical%20mile. Accessed 20 Jan. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share