navigator
Americannoun
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a person who navigates.
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a person who practices, or is skilled in, navigation, as of ships or aircraft.
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a person who conducts explorations by sea.
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British. a navvy.
noun
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a person who is skilled in or performs navigation, esp on a ship or aircraft
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(esp formerly) a person who explores by ship
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an instrument or device for assisting a pilot to navigate an aircraft
Etymology
Origin of navigator
First recorded in 1580–90, navigator is from the Latin word nāvigātor a sailor, mariner. See navigate, -tor
Explanation
A navigator is the person whose job it is to steer the ship. The navigator plans and charts the course and then points the boat in the right direction. Use the noun navigator when you talk about someone who's in charge of planning a ship's route. Airplanes have navigators too, to direct the course they will take using maps and various instruments. A more old fashioned meaning of navigator is an ocean explorer. In fact, in Latin, navigator simply means "sailor," from navis, "ship," and agere, "drive."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Navigator on Monday said it would pay $103 million in cash to New York-based Stable Asset Management for a portfolio of revenue-share interests in 17 alternative asset managers.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 4, 2026
Navigator could increase the number of deals it does each year under a strategic partnership formed as part of its latest $195 million acquisition, the Australian alternative investment manager’s CEO said.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 4, 2026
The transaction, which Blue Owl Capital-backed Navigator said was valued at 7.6 times the portfolio’s 2025 distributions, includes a strategic partnership that includes the option for Navigator and Stable to co-fund future acquisitions.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 4, 2026
Under its so-called GP staking strategy, Navigator injects liquidity—and in some cases strategic advice—into these general partners in exchange for a share of fees and profits.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 4, 2026
Beyond the Cape, the furthest point that Dias reached he named the Rio do Infante, the River of the Crown Prince, after Prince Henry, now called the Navigator.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
