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 Coast Guard said in a statement that the people were reported missing about 400 nautical miles off the Mexico-Guatemala border.
—
Joe Walsh, CBS News, 3 Jan. 2026
As the drills unfolded, Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said Chinese military aircraft and naval vessels were operating near the island, with some engaging in close stand-offs near Taiwan’s contiguous zone, about 24 nautical miles from shore.
—Greg Wehner, FOXNews.com, 30 Dec. 2025
L3Harris says the system flies at subsonic speeds and has a range of more than 200 nautical miles (about 230 miles, or 370 kilometers) at low altitude.
—Kapil Kajal, Interesting Engineering, 29 Dec. 2025
Crews searched 84 nautical miles for swimmer According to a joint statement from the Coast Guard, City of Pacific Grove, and City of Monterey, the search ended on Monday after 15 hours and more than 84 square nautical miles.
—Natalie Neysa Alund, USA Today, 23 Dec. 2025
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Joe Walsh, CBS News, 3 Jan. 2026
As the drills unfolded, Taiwan’s Defense Ministry said Chinese military aircraft and naval vessels were operating near the island, with some engaging in close stand-offs near Taiwan’s contiguous zone, about 24 nautical miles from shore.
—Greg Wehner, FOXNews.com, 30 Dec. 2025
L3Harris says the system flies at subsonic speeds and has a range of more than 200 nautical miles (about 230 miles, or 370 kilometers) at low altitude.
—Kapil Kajal, Interesting Engineering, 29 Dec. 2025
Crews searched 84 nautical miles for swimmer According to a joint statement from the Coast Guard, City of Pacific Grove, and City of Monterey, the search ended on Monday after 15 hours and more than 84 square nautical miles.
—Natalie Neysa Alund, USA Today, 23 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for nautical mile
Cite this Entry
“Nautical mile.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nautical%20mile. Accessed 4 Jan. 2026.
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