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

While Centcom didn’t provide a location, Agence-France Presse reported earlier Saturday that an oil tanker was hit near the Bab el-Mandeb strait, about 10 nautical miles (19 kilometers) southwest of the Yemeni port of Mokha. —Eamon Akil Farhat, Fortune, 18 May 2024

Airbus said the configuration delivered 20 percent less fuel burn per nautical mile at 180 knots (207.14 mph) compared to a conventional helicopter at 130 knots (149.6 mph). —Daniel Cote, Robb Report, 16 May 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)