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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Aptly titled the Grand Expedition, the 94-day itinerary charts more than 20,500 nautical miles and traverses 147 degrees of latitude.
—
India Brown, Robb Report, 31 July 2025
Then, a search that had covered nearly 50,000 square nautical miles from Jupiter to the North Carolina coast began, one that turned out to be one of the most extensive searches in U.S. Coast Guard history.
—Skyler Caruso, People.com, 24 July 2025
One nautical mile west of Santorini, opposite the village of Oia and the caldera, lies the tiny island of Therasia, accessible via boat departing from Ammoudi Bay.
—Monica Mendal, Vogue, 15 July 2025
The Federal Aviation Administration has issued a temporary flight restriction for a half nautical mile radius around Paycom Center in Oklahoma City (Okla.) that will begin at 5:00 pm local time and last until midnight.
—Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 22 June 2025
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India Brown, Robb Report, 31 July 2025
Then, a search that had covered nearly 50,000 square nautical miles from Jupiter to the North Carolina coast began, one that turned out to be one of the most extensive searches in U.S. Coast Guard history.
—Skyler Caruso, People.com, 24 July 2025
One nautical mile west of Santorini, opposite the village of Oia and the caldera, lies the tiny island of Therasia, accessible via boat departing from Ammoudi Bay.
—Monica Mendal, Vogue, 15 July 2025
The Federal Aviation Administration has issued a temporary flight restriction for a half nautical mile radius around Paycom Center in Oklahoma City (Okla.) that will begin at 5:00 pm local time and last until midnight.
—Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 22 June 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 6 Aug. 2025.
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