cable's length

American  

Or cable length

noun

1. a nautical unit of length equivalent to 720 feet (219 meters) in the U.S. Navy and 608 feet (185 meters) in the British Navy.

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Etymology

Origin of cable's length

First recorded in 1545–55

Example Sentences

The entrance into this harbour, surrounded by coral reefs which indeed form the haven, is exceedingly narrow, the fair way for the frigate not exceeding half a cable's length.

From Narrative of the Circumnavigation of the Globe by the Austrian Frigate Novara, Volume III (Commodore B. Von Wullerstorf-Urbair,) Undertaken by Order of the Imperial Government in the Years 1857, 1858, & 1859, Under the Immediate Auspices of His I. and R. Highness the Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian, Commander-In-Chief of the Austrian Navy. by Scherzer, Karl Ritter von

A cable's length from shore, and just visible through the mist, was a large indistinct shape.

From Rounding up the Raider A Naval Story of the Great War by Westerman, Percy F. (Percy Francis)

A cable's length on the port beam the Carse o' Gowrie was backing gently astern in order to close with her consort.

From With Beatty off Jutland A Romance of the Great Sea Fight by Westerman, Percy F. (Percy Francis)

Smartly handled, she worked her way in through the narrow, land-locked entrance; then luffing up into the wind, she dropped anchor within a cable's length of the Golden Hope.

From The Quest of the 'Golden Hope' A Seventeenth Century Story of Adventure by Westerman, Percy F. (Percy Francis)

Closing to within a cable's length of the Warrior he signalled: "Request permission to take off my sub-lieutenant."

From With Beatty off Jutland A Romance of the Great Sea Fight by Westerman, Percy F. (Percy Francis)