nautical
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of nautical
1545–55; < Latin nautic ( us ) pertaining to ships or sailors (< Greek nautikós, equivalent to naû ( s ) ship + -tikos -tic ) + -al 1
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How does nautical compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
If it can go to sea, it’s nautical. That is, if it has to do with a boat, ship, sailor, or one of those maps of the ocean that nautical people call a chart, it can be considered nautical. You can wear khakis with sailboats or whales embroidered all over and not be the least bit nautical, but if you know that a rope is called a sheet and that hard to the lee means “duck and move to the other side of the boat,” there’s hope. The most nautical among us know what knot to tie in any given boating situation, which makes them both nautical and “knot-ical.”
Vocabulary lists containing nautical
100 SAT Words Beginning with "N"
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Peter and the Starcatchers
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This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for August 30–September 5, 2025
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“Eleanor Rigby” attracted a post-55 audience in droves, while the good-natured storyline and nautical sound effects inherent in “Yellow Submarine” drew children and pre-teens into The Beatles’ camp.
From Salon ● Aug. 5, 2026
But Iran had effectively blockaded the key waterway, and just 25 nautical miles from Hormuz, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps denied permission for the vessel to proceed.
From Barron's ● Aug. 4, 2026
Moisés López Pedroza, a spokesman for Mexico’s navy, said he could only confirm that no attacks had occurred within his country’s Exclusive Economic Zone, which extends 200 nautical miles from Mexico’s coastline.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 20, 2026
The MT Astana, sailing under a Tanzanian flag, was en route to the port of Bosaso in Puntland, when it was boarded 65 nautical miles off Yemen.
From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026
He thought, there are waves making up, and that was a nautical way to think, and he did not know why he’d think that way now but he did.
From "The Voyage Of The Frog" by Gary Paulsen
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
