nautical
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
- nauticality noun
- nautically adverb
- nonnautical adjective
- nonnautically adverb
- unnautical adjective
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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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.
He said the tanker was currently in international waters but in Libya's search and rescue zone about 53 nautical miles north of Tripoli and heading south.
From Barron's • Mar. 20, 2026
On Sunday lunchtime, it was 50 nautical miles southwest of Malta.
From Barron's • Mar. 15, 2026
On Wednesday, Thailand's navy said it was providing emergency assistance after a Thai-flagged vessel was hit 11 nautical miles north of Oman, causing a fire on board.
From BBC • Mar. 11, 2026
Local topography—including a shipping channel that shrinks to less than 2 nautical miles wide at its narrowest—requires predictable routes in a small area, he said.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 5, 2026
There wasn’t even yet an agreed length for a nautical mile.
From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson
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.
