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
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.
Authorities say the plane was on a routine mission from Benin City to Lagos when it came down in a swamp near a naval base on Monday morning.
From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026
The audio marked the beginning of a monthslong American naval blockade, now in its second iteration, that has redirected more than 270 vessels as of Oct.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
Army’s Counter Intelligence Corps, Steinberg is sent to Flensburg, a former German naval academy now under Allied control, where he is put in charge of Gen. Alfred Jodl.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026
They have also struck multiple Saudi targets including oil infrastructure and the capital Riyadh while also announcing a naval blockade on Saudi shipping in the Red Sea.
From Barron's ● Oct. 3, 2026
Navy enlisted female clerks as “yeomanettes,” who were barred from sea duty but given formal naval rank.
From "The War to End All Wars: World War I" by Russell Freedman
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.
