Nautical mile

A nautical mile (symbol M, NM or nmi) is a unit of distance, set by international agreement as being exactly 1852 meters (about 6,076 feet), compared with the 5,280 feet in a statute mile. Historically, it was defined as the distance spanned by one minute of arc along a meridian of the Earth (north-south), and developed from the sea mile and the related geographical mile.