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:
They typically carry a crew of five - an aircraft commander, pilot, radar navigator, navigator and electronic warfare officer.
From BBC ● Jun. 15, 2026
According to the post, Nautas’ name evokes the spirit of a “sailor, navigator, voyager, one who embarks on a journey and fears not the unknown.”
From Los Angeles Times ● May 4, 2026
Meg Stoltzfus, a retirement coach and housing navigator at Financial Council in Towson, Md., works closely with clients facing those questions.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 27, 2026
Israel's military said Saturday it had carried out an operation overnight in Lebanon to find Arad's remains but had failed to uncover any trace of the navigator missing since 1986.
From Barron's ● Mar. 7, 2026
Behind enemy lines, Sasha’s navigator, Nina, and her tail gunner, Aleksandr, weren’t so lucky.
From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein
Starling gave the technology an opportunity to be tested under real conditions in orbit, demonstrating how advanced flight software can allow satellites to function as increasingly autonomous navigators.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 26, 2026
As airports continue to expand, interest is growing in passenger-assistance services that include perks like personal navigators, private lounges and no lines.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 31, 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
After the war, Valentin Markov himself married one of the 125th Guards squadron navigators, Galya Dzhunkovskaya, the young woman who sang songs and told stories to her pilot, Masha Dolina, while they flew.
From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein
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.
