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
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.
Blue Water Autonomy’s unmanned surface vessels are engineered for long-endurance deployments with thousands of nautical miles of range. Kapil Kajal, Interesting Engineering, 25 Sep. 2025 The vessel was allegedly carrying 1,000 kilograms of cocaine when it was intercepted approximately 80 nautical miles south of Isla Beata, a small Dominican island. Adeola Adeosun, MSNBC Newsweek, 22 Sep. 2025 Tuvalu’s economy also depends on our Exclusive Economic Zone, an area of 200 nautical miles around the land which provides us with nearly half of our GDP from fishing and seabed resources. Feleti Penitala Teo, Time, 22 Sep. 2025 The original objective of the new Gulfstream, an update of the popular G650ER, was simply to secure its position as aviation’s farthest-flying business jet with a range of 8,000 nautical miles. J. George Gorant, Robb Report, 21 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for nautical mile

Word History

First Known Use

1830, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of nautical mile was in 1830

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Cite this Entry

“Nautical mile.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nautical%20mile. Accessed 29 Sep. 2025.

Kids Definition

nautical mile

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

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