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.
Researchers used historical records and weather data from the time of the crash to identify the 10 square nautical miles of Atlantic Ocean seabed where the wreckage was likely resting.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 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 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
“Five hundred and 1,000 nautical miles,” he says.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 14, 2026
“This whole area’s a nautical graveyard. It’s like the old captains used to say—‘Twixt Hartland Point and Cairnholm Bay is a sailor’s grave by night or day!’”
From "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" by Ransom Riggs
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.
