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

For 70 nautical miles around Key Largo, marine life and habitats can be seen in several ways: snorkeling and scuba diving lessons and tours, glass-bottom boat tours, and canoeing, kayaking, and paddleboarding trails. —Lisa Cericola, Southern Living, 29 Mar. 2025

These algorithms are used during operation to estimate range measurements at distances of 2-4 nautical miles. —Sabbir Rangwala, Forbes.com, 28 Mar. 2025

Yet at 10 knots, its fuel consumption of 22 gph translates to an impressive range of 960 nautical miles. —Julia Zaltzman, Robb Report, 15 Mar. 2025

Newsweek's map shows that the Chinese flotilla, which has remained outside Australia's territorial waters that extend 12 nautical miles from its shores during the deployment, departed from the country's 200-nautical-mile Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). —Dan Perry, Newsweek, 28 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1830, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for nautical mile

• bibliophile
• epicondyle
• geotextile
• nucleophile
• aisle
• bile
• chyle
• file
• guile
• heil
• isle
• kyle

Kids Definition

nautical mile

noun

: any of various units of distance used for sea and air navigation equal to about 6076 feet (1852 meters)