navigate
Americanverb (used with object)
-
navigates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
navigated,
past participle, past
-
navigating
present participle
-
to move on, over, or through (water, air, or land) in a ship or aircraft.
to navigate a river.
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to direct or manage (a ship, aircraft, or guided missile) on its course.
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to ascertain or plot and control the course or position of (a ship, aircraft, etc.).
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to pass over (the sea or other body of water), as a ship does.
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to walk or find one's way on, in, or across.
It was difficult to navigate the stairs in the dark.
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to move or progress through in a logical sequence.
Headings and subheadings make it easier to navigate a long article.
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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)
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navigates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
navigated,
past participle, past
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navigating
present participle
-
to direct or manage a ship, aircraft, or guided missile on its course.
-
to pass over the water, as a ship does.
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to walk or find one's way.
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to travel by ship or boat; sail.
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to move or progress through something in a logical sequence.
We’re navigating through a maze of environmental legislation.
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Computers. to move from one part to another of a website, document, etc.
verb
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to plan, direct, or plot the path or position of (a ship, an aircraft, etc)
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(tr) to travel over, through, or on (water, air, or land) in a boat, aircraft, etc
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informal to direct (oneself, one's way, etc) carefully or safely
he navigated his way to the bar
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(intr) (of a passenger in a motor vehicle) to give directions to the driver; point out the route
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rare (intr) to voyage in a ship; sail
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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navigatesimple
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navigatessimple
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have navigatedperfect
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has navigatedperfect
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am navigatingprogressive
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are navigatingprogressive
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is navigatingprogressive
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have been navigatingperfect progressive
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has been navigatingperfect progressive
Past
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navigatedsimple
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had navigatedperfect
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was navigatingprogressive
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were navigatingprogressive
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had been navigatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of navigate
First recorded in 1580–90; from Latin nāvigātus “sailed,” past participle of nāvigāre “to sail,” from nāv(is) “ship” + -igāre, combining form of agere “to drive, do”; cf. fumigate
Explanation
To navigate is to determine a path or course. If you volunteer to navigate on your family’s road trip to Alaska, be sure you’re the type who’s willing to stop and ask for directions. Navigate, like “navy” and “naval,” comes from the Latin word navis meaning “ship.” Without the luxury of modern technology, ancient sailors had to be excellent navigators; they often relied on the stars to chart their course. (We don’t recommend that you try this method of navigation with your family in the car.)
Vocabulary lists containing navigate
100 SAT Words Beginning with "N"
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"Sisters" by Raina Telgemeier
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"The Math Instinct," Vocabulary from the math essay
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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.
See Examples For:
He said that even Congolese military personnel struggled to navigate the opaque network of private military companies operating in the DRC.
From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026
Sending a robot through pipes isn’t as straightforward as it might seem: Pipes move when the soil around them shifts, and there are blockages made of sediment that the robot must be able to navigate.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
Factors as varied as what it took to navigate the pandemic and the company’s success itself, which raised the financial stakes, led him to doubt one trait that helped him succeed.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026
Dunham, the series’ showrunner, didn’t know how to navigate her role as the boss of such a motley crew, specifically her relationship with Driver.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026
I watched my feet navigate the tripwires we’d set up yesterday and avoided her disdain.
From "The Marrow Thieves" by Cherie Dimaline
Directed by Marc Evans, whose previous work includes BBC's Mr Burton, the film follows Effi as she navigates being out of work, clubbing and hangovers.
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026
Prada is working to close the gap with rivals at the very top of the market as it navigates a difficult climate for luxury retail.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026
Tuccillo says Charles brought an elegance and depth to the fish-out-of-water dynamic his character navigates in the quirky town.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026
Kazan doesn’t sacrifice much of the character’s darkness, but rather enables Pugh, an actress who ably navigates purity and corruption, to play with both closer to the surface than usual.
From Salon ● Sep. 4, 2026
Dad is silent on the way to the parking lot, silent as he navigates the car past the shrimp trucks.
From "Clairboyance" by Kristiana Kahakauwila
One theory is that Earhart unintentionally navigated to Nikumaroro, where she ditched her plane and died a castaway.
From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026
“We navigated a pandemic, enormous disruption across our industry, and a media landscape that seemed to change beneath our feet every year,” Lynch said in a note to staff announcing his departure.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026
I recently watched with smug satisfaction as OpenAI’s GPT-6 Astra model hunted through spreadsheets to reconcile an uncooperative credit card statement and then navigated QuickBooks to make sure it was reflected in the right places.
From Slate ● Sep. 23, 2026
It notes that past governors such as Ronald Reagan successfully navigated a multi‑year gap between state office and the White House, suggesting Newsom could do the same.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 13, 2026
Nathan navigated the maze of parked cars and trucks.
From "Healer of the Water Monster" by Brian Young
His protagonist is a writer who’s trying to build a relationship with his grandchild, Ben, while navigating the half-suppressed scorn of his daughter-in-law and the irritated complacency of his son.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026
The actor received a Teen Choice Award nomination for his work on “New Girl,” which starred Zooey Deschanel and followed a group of roommates navigating relationships and careers in Los Angeles.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 15, 2026
Domino’s has been navigating a difficult environment as inflation-weary consumers become increasingly selective about restaurant spending.
From Barron's ● Oct. 13, 2026
The manager does this so that all of the players have a similar output when they are navigating their busy fixture schedule.
From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026
“We are good at navigating and good at bird-watching. We can track and not bite. Hup, hup, hup!”
From "The Unseen Guest" by Maryrose Wood
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
