navigate

[nav-i-geyt]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR navigate ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), nav·i·gat·ed, nav·i·gat·ing.

to move on, over, or through (water, air, or land) in a ship or aircraft: to navigate a river.

to direct or manage (a ship, aircraft, or guided missile) on its course.

to ascertain or plot and control the course or position of (a ship, aircraft, etc.).

to pass over (the sea or other body of water), as a ship does.

to walk or find one's way on, in, or across: It was difficult to navigate the stairs in the dark.

to move or progress through in a logical sequence: Headings and subheadings make it easier to navigate a long article.

Computers. to move from one part to another of (a website, document, etc.), especially by using the links: Their site is uncluttered and easy to navigate.

verb (used without object), nav·i·gat·ed, nav·i·gat·ing.

to direct or manage a ship, aircraft, or guided missile on its course.

to pass over the water, as a ship does.

to walk or find one's way.

to travel by ship or boat; sail.

to move or progress through something in a logical sequence: We’re navigating through a maze of environmental legislation.

Computers. to move from one part to another of a website, document, etc.

Origin of navigate

1580–90; < Latin nāvigātus, past participle of nāvigāre to sail, derivative of nāvis ship; for formation, see fumigate

Related formsmis·nav·i·gate, verb, mis·nav·i·gat·ed, mis·nav·i·gat·ing.re·nav·i·gate, verb (used with object), re·nav·i·gat·ed, re·nav·i·gat·ing.un·nav·i·gat·ed, adjectivewell-nav·i·gat·ed, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for navigate

maneuver, handle, sail, cross, cruise, operate, steer, voyage, plot, direct, drive, journey, skipper, helm, plan, captain, pilot

Examples from the Web for navigate

Contemporary Examples of navigate

On the show, we had to find a way to navigate that in a sensitive way.
Natalie Dormer Talks ‘Hunger Games,’ Feminism, and Why ‘Game of Thrones’ Needs More Dick
Marlow Stern
November 21, 2014
You navigate from scene to scene in an intimately small group.
New York’s Scariest Night Out: The Ghosts, Rats, and Lunatics of ‘Nightmare New York’
Justin Jones
October 4, 2014
And of the fact that we were able to navigate the film that dropped in the middle of the first season.
The Leaner, Meaner Season 2 of ‘Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’
Jason Lynch
September 22, 2014
It takes just as long to fly to Miami, he ponders, as it does to navigate the horrendous traffic on the Long Island Expressway.
The Hell of the Hamptons: Why the Exclusive Hotspot Is a Mind-Numbing Drag
Robert Gold
August 18, 2014
The family sent a trusted Arab driver who could navigate the ISIS checkpoints.
Abducted, Tortured, Indoctrinated: The Tale of a Teen Who Escaped ISIS
Yusuf Sayman
August 4, 2014

Historical Examples of navigate

I ain't so much of a wreck yet but that I can navigate Boston without a pilot.
Mary-'Gusta
Joseph C. Lincoln
It was a misty, black night, and Trumet sidewalks were uneven and hard to navigate.
Keziah Coffin
Joseph C. Lincoln
Will you pledge me your honour, if I release you upon parole, that you will navigate us thither?
Captain Blood
Rafael Sabatini
These are difficult seas to navigate, though they may not seem so.
Astounding Stories of Super-Science, May, 1930
Various
But how are you going to navigate this craft home with three men?
The Frozen Pirate
W. Clark Russell

British Dictionary definitions for navigate

navigate

verb

to plan, direct, or plot the path or position of (a ship, an aircraft, etc)

(tr) to travel over, through, or on (water, air, or land) in a boat, aircraft, etc

informal to direct (oneself, one's way, etc) carefully or safelyhe navigated his way to the bar

(intr) (of a passenger in a motor vehicle) to give directions to the driver; point out the route

(intr) rare to voyage in a ship; sail

Word Origin for navigate

C16: from Latin nāvigāre to sail, from nāvis ship + agere to drive

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for navigate

1580s, a back-formation from navigation, or else from Latin navigatus, past participle of navigare. Extended to balloons (1784) and later to aircraft (1901). Related: Navigated; navigating.