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

The company’s website describes the drone boat as being 24 feet in length and capable of carrying up to 1,000 pounds over 1,000 nautical miles at a top speed surpassing 34 knots. — Jeremy Hsu, ArsTechnica, 14 July 2026

The company said the collaboration has helped advance its aircraft, charging network, and operational capabilities, with its electric aircraft completing more than 160,000 nautical miles of flight testing to date. — Bojan Stojkovski, Interesting Engineering, 11 July 2026

As for grunt, the GTX90 is fitted with two MAN V-12 engines delivering 2,200 hp each for a top speed of 35 knots and a range of 300 nautical miles at a cruising speed of 30 knots. — Rachel Cormack, Robb Report, 10 July 2026

The model’s maximum payload is 18,600 kilograms and is designed for cargo operations north of 2,400 nautical miles (2,760 miles). — Glenn Taylor, Footwear News, 9 July 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)