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
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According to data collected by CruiseMapper, the rescue occurred about 20 nautical miles south of the Cabrera Archipelago in Spain’s Balearic Islands.
—
Colson Thayer, PEOPLE, 29 Oct. 2025
China should also agree to hold fewer and smaller military exercises around Taiwan and stop intruding into Taiwan’s contiguous zone, which extends 24 nautical miles around the island.
—Stephen Wertheim, Foreign Affairs, 28 Oct. 2025
The team is set to depart from Majuro in the Marshall Islands on November 4 and sail about 1,200 nautical miles to Nikumaroro.
—Katie Hunt, CNN Money, 28 Oct. 2025
As for grunt, Big Naan is equipped with two 742 kW Caterpillar C32 ACERT engines that enable a top speed of over 14 knots, a cruising speed of 12 knots, and a range exceeding 5,500 nautical miles at an economical speed of 10 knots.
—Rachel Cormack, Robb Report, 27 Oct. 2025
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Colson Thayer, PEOPLE, 29 Oct. 2025
China should also agree to hold fewer and smaller military exercises around Taiwan and stop intruding into Taiwan’s contiguous zone, which extends 24 nautical miles around the island.
—Stephen Wertheim, Foreign Affairs, 28 Oct. 2025
The team is set to depart from Majuro in the Marshall Islands on November 4 and sail about 1,200 nautical miles to Nikumaroro.
—Katie Hunt, CNN Money, 28 Oct. 2025
As for grunt, Big Naan is equipped with two 742 kW Caterpillar C32 ACERT engines that enable a top speed of over 14 knots, a cruising speed of 12 knots, and a range exceeding 5,500 nautical miles at an economical speed of 10 knots.
—Rachel Cormack, Robb Report, 27 Oct. 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 3 Nov. 2025.
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