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
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The maritime authority that monitors shipping in the region, the UKMTO, had earlier said a vessel had been struck in the Persian Gulf, about 40 nautical miles southeast of the Iraqi port of Umm Qasr. Kevin Liptak, CNN Money, 2 June 2026 Engineering for longer range The A350-1000ULR was developed to support nonstop flights between Sydney and London, a route spanning nearly 10,000 nautical miles. Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 2 June 2026 The combo lets the 237-foot cruise silently for up to four hours, with a range of 5,000 nautical miles at 12 knots. Nicole Hoey, Robb Report, 2 June 2026 The main difference between the A350-1000ULR and the standard version is a new 20,000-liter (5,283 US-gal) rear center fuel tank, increasing operational range by approximately 1,000 nautical miles (1,151 miles, 1,852 km) to a total of 9,700 nautical miles (11,163 miles, 17,964 km). David Szondy june 02, New Atlas, 2 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for nautical mile

Word History

First Known Use

1830, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of nautical mile was in 1830

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Cite this Entry

“Nautical mile.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nautical%20mile. Accessed 7 Jun. 2026.

Kids Definition

nautical mile

noun
: any of various units of distance used for sea and air navigation equal to about 6076 feet (1852 meters)

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