navigable

[nav-i-guh-buhl]

adjective

1. deep and wide enough to provide passage to ships.

   a navigable channel.

2. capable of being steered or guided, as a ship, aircraft, or missile.

3. Computers.,  designed or arranged in a way that facilitates moving from web page to web page or from one section to another on a website.

navigable

/ ˈnævɪɡəbəl /

adjective

1. wide, deep, or safe enough to be sailed on or through

   a navigable channel

2. capable of being steered or controlled

   a navigable raft

Other Word Forms

• navigability noun
• navigableness noun
• navigably adverb
• nonnavigability noun
• nonnavigable adjective
• nonnavigableness noun
• nonnavigably adverb
• unnavigability noun
• unnavigable adjective
• unnavigableness noun
• unnavigably adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of navigable¹

First recorded in 1520–30; from Latin nāvigābilis, equivalent to nāvigā(re) “to sail” ( navigate ) + -bilis -ble

Example Sentences

Ben Cottam is the director of the Canal and River Trust for Wales which looks after navigable canals and waterways.

Read more on BBC

They have sections of challenging rapids, but are usually only navigable for two or three months in early summer, according to Briancon's official website.

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Some are navigable, as we saw in “Six Feet Under.”

Read more on Salon

The court ruled that the law’s protections for the “waters of the United States” apply only to wetlands and streams that are directly connected to navigable waterways.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Year after year, Caltrans moves mountains to keep that two-lane road navigable.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• passable