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
What To Know According to the Australian Defense Force, which has deployed warships and aircraft to track the Chinese three-ship flotilla, the Chinese ships were operating 305 nautical miles southeast of Perth, the capital city of Western Australia, as of Monday morning local time.
—
Gordon G. Chang, Newsweek, 3 Mar. 2025
The pair called the Coast Guard, which mounted an exhaustive search effort — involving a helicopter, a drone and several boats, lasting 28.5 hours covering an area of 167 nautical miles — before it was called off, unsuccessful.
—Tessa Stuart, Rolling Stone, 25 Feb. 2025
Collins added that the ships were currently about 280 nautical miles east of Tasmania and had slightly changed their formations, while being closely monitored by a New Zealand navy frigate.
—Nectar Gan, CNN, 24 Feb. 2025
The landing platform was located 12 nautical miles (22 kilometers) from the nearest point of land, within Bahamian territorial waters.
—Ars Technica, 21 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for nautical mile
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Gordon G. Chang, Newsweek, 3 Mar. 2025
The pair called the Coast Guard, which mounted an exhaustive search effort — involving a helicopter, a drone and several boats, lasting 28.5 hours covering an area of 167 nautical miles — before it was called off, unsuccessful.
—Tessa Stuart, Rolling Stone, 25 Feb. 2025
Collins added that the ships were currently about 280 nautical miles east of Tasmania and had slightly changed their formations, while being closely monitored by a New Zealand navy frigate.
—Nectar Gan, CNN, 24 Feb. 2025
The landing platform was located 12 nautical miles (22 kilometers) from the nearest point of land, within Bahamian territorial waters.
—Ars Technica, 21 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for nautical mile
Articles Related to nautical mile
Cite this Entry
“Nautical mile.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nautical%20mile. Accessed 13 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share