a unit of length in nautical use that has various values, including 100 fathoms (600 feet)
another term for cable (sense 3b)
cable length in American English
a unit of length used to measure nautical distances or depths, in the U.S. equal to 120 fathoms or 720 ft (219.456 m): in Britain equal to 101.26 fathoms or 607.56 ft (185.184 m) or about one tenth of a nautical mile