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

For example, a rock generates a 12-nautical mile territorial sea but no exclusive economic zone. — Jill Goldenziel, Forbes.com, 30 July 2026

Heriyanto said dozens of search and rescue teams were deployed in a search operation covering approximately 300 square nautical miles of waters along and around Tomini Bay based on the tour boat’s route projections. — ABC News, 25 July 2026

At the start of the year the French offshore veteran Thomas Coville sailed Sodebo Ultim 3, his 32-metre trimaran, 28,315 nautical miles around the world to set a new record of 40 days, 10 hours, 45 minutes, and 50 seconds. — Andrew Rice, New York Times, 24 July 2026

The vessels were struck in separate attacks approximately 70 nautical miles (around 80 miles) off the Saudi coast, maritime risk consultancy Marisks said Thursday. — Billy Stockwell, CNN Money, 23 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)