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

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

Its solicitation calls for an aircraft capable of self-deploying 8,000 nautical miles (9,206 miles), while carrying at least 2,800 pounds of payload. — Sujita Sinha, Interesting Engineering, 11 Sep. 2026

During the weekend, authorities searched 89 square nautical miles in an effort to find him. — Paula Wethington, CBS News, 9 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)