nautical mile

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noun

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.

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Also called geographical mile, sea mile .

Origin of nautical mile

First recorded in 1625–35

Words nearby nautical mile

naut., nautch, Nautes, nautical, nautical day, nautical mile, nautiloid, nautilus, nautophone, NAV, Navaho

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use nautical mile in a sentence

Then she managed to struggle a mile through dark, rainy woods.
The 7-Year-Old Plane Crash Survivor’s Brutal Journey Through the Woods|James Higdon|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Beyond the huge American flag that hung over the street, the mile-long mass of cops ended.
Funeral Protest Is Too Much for NYPD Union Boss|Michael Daly|January 5, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Each one seems a mile high, and the entire flight an insurmountable obstacle.
You’re Never ‘Cured’ of an Eating Disorder|Carrie Arnold|December 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
So I went home—we only lived about a quarter mile away—and I got on my bicycle and rode back, and he was in the donut shop.
Joe Biden: ‘I’ll Kill Your Son’|Olivia Nuzzi|December 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST

The incident occurred just one mile from the Garner incident.
Before Eric Garner, There Was Michael Stewart: The Tragic Story of the Real-Life Radio Raheem|Marlow Stern|December 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
What need to look to right or left when you are swallowing up free mile after mile of dizzying road?
The Joyous Adventures of Aristide Pujol|William J. Locke
General Santa Anna is within a mile of us with fifteen hundred men.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. CCCXXXIX. January, 1844. Vol. LV.|Various
Nowhere can be found a region capable of supporting a larger population to the square mile than Lombardy.
Glances at Europe|Horace Greeley
They had proceeded a mile when Bruno came running back, showing by his manner he had news to impart.
The Courier of the Ozarks|Byron A. Dunn
The procession made its way slowly towards the river, three quarters of a mile to the east.
The Red Year|Louis Tracy

British Dictionary definitions for nautical mile

nautical mile

noun

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)

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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for nautical mile

nautical mile

[ nô′tĭ-kəl ]

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). Also called geographic mile See Table at measurement.

nautical mile

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Origin of nautical mile

Words nearby nautical mile

Words related to nautical mile

How to use nautical mile in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for nautical mile

Scientific definitions for nautical mile