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.
The incident involved the Russian frigate Admiral Grigorovich and a UK-registered yacht around 20 nautical miles south of the Isle of Wight just outside British waters, a UK defence source told AFP.
From Barron's • Jun. 16, 2026
The MoD said the operation had happened in international waters as it was more than 12 nautical miles from the UK coast.
From BBC • Jun. 15, 2026
The drone boat deployed for rescue on Tuesday was Saronic’s Corsair, a 24-foot vessel with top speed of over 35 knots and a range of over 1,000 nautical miles.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 11, 2026
The experienced sailor who has captained big boats for 30 years said people thought Freya would not last a week, yet they have logged 18,000 nautical miles in 15 months.
From BBC • Jun. 6, 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.
