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Glite Dictionary
cable's length

cable's length

1 8.3
A distance at sea equal to about 185 meters
  • noun
  • Specialized
translation icon : cable
  • The wreck was discovered at a cable's length from the shore.

Examples

  • The cable's length is crucial for navigation.

  • The submarine stayed submerged for two cable's lengths beyond the reef.

  • Ships anchored several cable's lengths apart to avoid collision.

  • Can you measure the cable's length for me?

  • The fisherman measured the anchor's distance and found it was a cable's length from the boat.

  • To safely moor the ship, you need to drop the anchor at least a cable's length away from the reef.

  • They marked the dive site's perimeter with a buoy set at a cable's length from the shore.

Synonyms

cable
vscable's length
  • Specialized
2 7.2

A sea distance equal to about 185 meters

is the same unit but presented as a possessive expression
cable length
vscable's length
  • Specialized
6.3

A sea distance equal to one tenth of a nautical mile, about 185 meters

is a variant two-word noun phrasing rather than possessive

Surface Forms

cable's length singular
cable's lengths plural

Morphology

cable's + length

Although 'length' clearly signals a measurement and 'cable' is a familiar noun, the MWE denotes a specialized lexicalized nautical unit (one‑tenth of a nautical mile) whose exact value and status as a unit are not predictable from the constituents. A B1 learner who knows the words would likely read it as 'the length of a cable' rather than infer the standardized distance, so the expression is not transparently compositional.

Etymology

Cable's length comes from ships and the long heavy ropes called cables. Sailors measured distance by how many cables they had out, so today the phrase means a short distance at sea, about '185 metres'.