cable's length

American  

Or cable length

noun

1. a nautical unit of length equivalent to 720 feet (219 meters) in the U.S. Navy and 608 feet (185 meters) in the British Navy.

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Etymology

Origin of cable's length

First recorded in 1545–55

Example Sentences

The entrance into this harbour, surrounded by coral reefs which indeed form the haven, is exceedingly narrow, the fair way for the frigate not exceeding half a cable's length.

From Narrative of the Circumnavigation of the Globe by the Austrian Frigate Novara, Volume III (Commodore B. Von Wullerstorf-Urbair,) Undertaken by Order of the Imperial Government in the Years 1857, 1858, & 1859, Under the Immediate Auspices of His I. and R. Highness the Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian, Commander-In-Chief of the Austrian Navy. by Scherzer, Karl Ritter von

His quick eye had discerned a suspicious swirl on the surface within a cable's length of the picket-boat's starboard bow.

From The Fight for Constantinople A Story of the Gallipoli Peninsula by Westerman, Percy F. (Percy Francis)

Mr. Garboard had already gone on board the prize, hauled her off from the ship, where she was chafing her sides, and moored her a cable's length distant.

From Brave Old Salt or, Life on the Quarter Deck by Optic, Oliver

The next day the Boyne weighed anchor, and was towed by boats round from the bay of Baillif to the road of Basse Terre, where she anchored within a cable's length of the shore.

From An Account of the Campaign in the West Indies, in the Year 1794, Under the Command of their Excellencies Lieutenant General Sir Charles Grey, K.B., and Vice Admiral Sir John Jervis, K.B. by Willyams, Cooper

The squalls were terrifically violent, and astern of her, distant only half a cable's length, were rocks and low rocky islets, upon which a furious surf raged.

From Narrative of the surveying voyages of His Majesty's ships Adventure and Beagle, between the years 1826 and 1836 Volume I. - Proceedings of the First Expedition, 1826-1830 by Fitzroy, Robert