navigator
Americannoun
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navigators
plural
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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
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
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.
See Examples For:
There are typically five crew members on such a plane, including an aircraft commander, pilot, radar navigator, navigator and electronic warfare officer, according to the U.S.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 15, 2026
The plane is usually crewed by five people: an aircraft commander, a pilot, a radar navigator, a navigator and an electronic warfare officer, according to a US Air Force fact sheet on the plane.
From Barron's ● Jun. 15, 2026
A Carthaginian navigator named Hanno explored the west coast of Africa in the fifth century B.C., aided by advances in shipbuilding and maritime expertise.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 11, 2026
But this is where it will pay off to have assistance from an agent, broker, accredited ACA navigator or other professional who understands the nuances of the marketplace.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 13, 2025
Her navigator would yell, “Greetings to you from the 46th Guards Women’s Air Regiment!”
From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein
Honey bees are far more precise navigators than scientists once realized.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 14, 2026
Adam Johnson conjures the watery world of the precolonial Tuʻitonga empire in this fictional saga of sovereigns, warriors, celestial navigators and plucky commoners.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 3, 2025
While demand is growing and places are competitive, the department said new measures such as a challenge fund and local apprenticeship navigators "will support more businesses to take on apprentices".
From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2025
Last December, a TMC ship set to dock at Honolulu Harbor was turned away as protesters — native Hawaiians, navigators and environmentalists — gathered to express their displeasure.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2024
Soon enough, the navigators can discern the low moonlit lumps of islands ranged along the horizon.
From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
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.
