Any of various units of distance, used for sea and air navigation, based on the length of a minute of arc of a great circle of the Earth and differing because the Earth is not a perfect sphere: (1) a British unit that equals 6,080 ft or 1,853.2 m; also called Admiralty mile; (2) a U.S. unit, no longer in official use, that equals 6080.20 ft or 1,853.248 m; and (3) an international unit that equals 6,076.1033 ft or 1,852 m; used officially in the United States since July 1954.