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

Prior to slamming into land, video shot by a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration drone shows a massive 28-foot wave with wind gusts of nearly 76 miles per hour, crashing about 40 nautical miles from the center of Milton. —Natalie Neysa Alund, USA TODAY, 10 Oct. 2024

There were 26 total ships in the area between their point of origin and 40 nautical miles from the L.A. hub, while there were 29 vessels between those points that were headed for L.B. Approximately 436,973 TEUs are aboard the 55 ships headed for the San Pedro Bay. —Glenn Taylor, Sourcing Journal, 27 Sep. 2024

The navy was informed of the vessel’s presence on Sunday evening and sent out a boat patrol to the area, 38 nautical miles from Dakar, said Ibrahima Sow, spokesperson for Senegal’s military, in a statement. —Babacar Dione, Los Angeles Times, 23 Sep. 2024

But after scanning nearly 49,000 square nautical miles, the Navy declared Ingram and Chambers presumed dead. —Anne Flaherty, ABC News, 10 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)