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

As for performance, the steel hull and aluminium superstructure are paired with twin diesel engines, giving Hanaa a top speed of 13 knots, a cruising speed of 12 knots, and a range of 4,000 nautical miles at 10 knots. — Rachel Cormack, Robb Report, 6 Nov. 2026

In March 2026, the submarine completed a month-long Mediterranean deployment under NATO’s Noble Shield operation, spending more than 446 hours submerged and covering over 2,043 nautical miles. — Rupendra Brahambhatt, Interesting Engineering, 5 Nov. 2026

On December 5, the British brig Dei Gratia spotted the Mary Celeste, now nearly 400 nautical miles east of Portugal. — Encyclopedia Britannica, 3 Nov. 2026

The strike happened Sunday in an area about nine nautical miles off the coast of Lima, Oman, UKMTO said. — CBS News, 2 Nov. 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)