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
Taiwan dispatched naval, land and air forces on Wednesday after China launched a live-fire exercise zone just 40 nautical miles off of Taiwan's coast.
—
Anders Hagstrom, Fox News, 26 Feb. 2025
The next shift, in both the number and geographical range of piracy incidents, came around 2007, when those involved began commandeering larger boats for use in storming commercial carriers hundreds of nautical miles from the Somali coast.
—Soham Mitra, Lou Robinson and Patrick Gallagher, CNN, 22 Feb. 2025
The second letter reminded Google that maritime zones under the U.S.'s sovereignty extend for a maximum of 12 nautical miles from the coast.
—Kinsey Crowley, USA TODAY, 19 Feb. 2025
Given that location, the Roches-Douvres Lighthouse on the French coast, whose beam had a radius of 20 nautical miles, should have been visible to survivors and rescuers.
—Sean Kingsley, Smithsonian Magazine, 18 Feb. 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.
Anders Hagstrom, Fox News, 26 Feb. 2025
The next shift, in both the number and geographical range of piracy incidents, came around 2007, when those involved began commandeering larger boats for use in storming commercial carriers hundreds of nautical miles from the Somali coast.
—Soham Mitra, Lou Robinson and Patrick Gallagher, CNN, 22 Feb. 2025
The second letter reminded Google that maritime zones under the U.S.'s sovereignty extend for a maximum of 12 nautical miles from the coast.
—Kinsey Crowley, USA TODAY, 19 Feb. 2025
Given that location, the Roches-Douvres Lighthouse on the French coast, whose beam had a radius of 20 nautical miles, should have been visible to survivors and rescuers.
—Sean Kingsley, Smithsonian Magazine, 18 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for nautical mile
Articles Related to nautical mile
Cite this Entry
“Nautical mile.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nautical%20mile. Accessed 6 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share