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

Last month, Customs Air and Marine Operations agents stopped a boat about 22 nautical miles from Miami-Dade County carrying 19 people from Ecuador, the Dominican Republic and Venezuela. — David Goodhue, Miami Herald, 22 Sep. 2026

In 2023, the Lockheed Martin version of HAWC flew faster than Mach 5, above 60,000 feet and over 300 nautical miles, providing data for subsequent Air Force hypersonic programs. — Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 20 Sep. 2026

Using advanced autonomous systems designed for man/machine teaming, the Wildfire is likely to be turbo-prop powered, with a ferry range of 8,000 nautical miles (9,206 miles, 14,816 km). — New Atlas, 16 Sep. 2026

An initial report cited by the agency indicates that a 37-year-old Australian woman was participating in a dolphin excursion approximately three nautical miles off the coast of North Bimini when the incident occurred. — Ingrid Vasquez, PEOPLE, 16 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1830, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for nautical mile

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

Kids Definition

nautical mile

noun

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