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
But after scanning nearly 49,000 square nautical miles, the Navy declared Ingram and Chambers presumed dead.
—
Anne Flaherty, ABC News, 10 Oct. 2024
Both options give the 101-footer the same maximum speed of around 13 knots, a cruising speed of 10 knots, and a range of 3,000 nautical miles at 8 knots, but the diesel-electric system uses less fuel, produces fewer emissions, and is cheaper to run than conventional gas engines.
—Rachel Cormack, Robb Report, 7 Oct. 2024
In test voyages over 200 days covering over 35,000 nautical miles (40,000 miles, 65,000 km) between Chinese coastal ports and major Middle Eastern ports, the propellers produced a 2% savings in fuel consumption for the crude carrier.
—David Szondy, New Atlas, 18 July 2024
The vessel has traveled thousands of nautical miles and stopped at ports on four continents, including New York, Shanghai, Quebec and Manila, the capital of the Philippines—which has a unique connection to Spanish galleons.
—Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 23 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for nautical mile 
Anne Flaherty, ABC News, 10 Oct. 2024
Both options give the 101-footer the same maximum speed of around 13 knots, a cruising speed of 10 knots, and a range of 3,000 nautical miles at 8 knots, but the diesel-electric system uses less fuel, produces fewer emissions, and is cheaper to run than conventional gas engines.
—Rachel Cormack, Robb Report, 7 Oct. 2024
In test voyages over 200 days covering over 35,000 nautical miles (40,000 miles, 65,000 km) between Chinese coastal ports and major Middle Eastern ports, the propellers produced a 2% savings in fuel consumption for the crude carrier.
—David Szondy, New Atlas, 18 July 2024
The vessel has traveled thousands of nautical miles and stopped at ports on four continents, including New York, Shanghai, Quebec and Manila, the capital of the Philippines—which has a unique connection to Spanish galleons.
—Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 23 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for nautical mile
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'nautical mile.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Articles Related to nautical mile
Dictionary Entries Near nautical mile
Cite this Entry
“Nautical mile.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nautical%20mile. Accessed 25 Oct. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share