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

Corsair can travel 1,000 nautical miles, carry 1,000 pounds and hit speeds greater than 35 knots. —Colin Demarest, Axios, 30 Oct. 2024

The Maryland Offshore Wind Project's lease area is approximately 8.7 nautical miles offshore Maryland and 9 nautical miles from Sussex County, Delaware at its closest points - just under this crucial threshold identified by research. —Anna Broughel, Forbes, 28 Oct. 2024

The vessel lost power and ran aground on Saturday evening one nautical mile off the southern coast of the Samoan island of Upolu. —Michael Dorgan, Fox News, 11 Oct. 2024

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency said a ship was attacked in the Red Sea about 70 nautical miles southwest of Hodeidah, Yemen. —NBC News, 11 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1830, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

nautical mile

noun

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