naval
Americanadjective
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of or relating to warships.
a naval battle; naval strength.
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of or relating to ships of all kinds.
naval architecture; naval engineer.
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belonging to, pertaining to, or connected with a navy.
naval affairs.
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possessing a navy.
the great naval powers.
adjective
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of, relating to, characteristic of, or having a navy
-
of or relating to ships; nautical
Other Word Forms
- navally adverb
- nonnaval adjective
- prenaval adjective
- pronaval adjective
Etymology
Origin of naval
First recorded in 1585–95; from Latin nāvālis, equivalent to nāv(is) “ship” + -ālis -al 1
Explanation
Naval means "about a navy or navies." If you are interested in naval history, you probably enjoy seeing ships used in sea battles. Naval comes from the Latin word for ship, navis. Use the adjective naval whenever you're discussing a country's fleet of ships, especially ships intended for use during wartime. You might talk about a naval officer or a naval base, where ships are kept and naval personnel live. It's easy to confuse naval with its homophone navel, the belly button.
Vocabulary lists containing naval
Commonly Confused Words, List 2
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Commonly Confused Words, List 4
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Commonly Confused Words, List 6
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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.
U.S. military commanders did what they generally do before launching an air and naval campaign—they drew up a list of targets and ordered which weapons would hit which targets when.
From Slate • Apr. 8, 2026
U.S. and Israeli strikes have badly damaged Iran’s regular naval assets.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 4, 2026
A sixth and final draft, seen by AFP, greenlights member states -- either unilaterally or as "voluntary multinational naval partnerships" -- to use "all defensive means necessary and commensurate with the circumstances."
From Barron's • Apr. 3, 2026
Gulf Cooperation Council states such as the U.A.E. and Saudi Arabia possess significant naval and air forces of their own.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 3, 2026
That left the Marines on Guadalcanal without any naval support, only half of their supplies, and 50,000 Japanese ready to wipe them out.
From "Code Talker: A Novel About the Navajo Marines of World War Two" by Joseph Bruchac
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.
