nautical mile

noun

1. a unit of distance used chiefly in navigation, equal to 6080.20 feet (1853.25 meters) in the United States, now replaced by the international nautical mile.

nautical mile

noun

1. Also called: international nautical mile.  air mile. a unit of length, used esp in navigation, equivalent to the average length of a minute of latitude, and corresponding to a latitude of 45°, i.e. 1852 m (6076.12 ft)

2. Former name: geographical mile. a former British unit of length equal to 1853.18 m (6080 ft), which was replaced by the international nautical mile in 1970 Compare sea mile

nautical mile

1. A unit of length in the US Customary System, used in air and sea navigation and equal to 6,076 feet or 2,025 yards (1,852 meters).

2. Also called geographic mile

3. See Table at measurement

Word History and Origins

Origin of nautical mile¹

First recorded in 1625–35

Example Sentences

Organisers of the new attempt initially said three of its boats had been intercepted in the early hours of Wednesday morning, 120 nautical miles off the coast of Gaza.

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It said the last of its boats, the Marinette, was illegally intercepted at 10:29 local time on Friday, approximately 42.5 nautical miles from Gaza in international waters.

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The first boats were stopped on Wednesday about 70 nautical miles off the Gaza coast in international waters and others closer.

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It added that the flotilla was 70 nautical miles from Gaza's shoreline.

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The Avontuur is 45 nautical miles off the coast of Gran Canaria and the light is too far out to be a fishing boat.

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