navigator
Americannoun
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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
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.
“You might hear, ‘My career navigator was Jenny, and let me tell you she was in my life,’ and those are absolutely the unsung heroes.”
From The Wall Street Journal • May 10, 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
She won Ladies' Cups and as navigator to husband Ian they won the Coupe des Alpes three times in the tough Alpine Rally.
From BBC • Dec. 18, 2025
Almost as soon as that happened, they flew directly into the most vicious storm that either Alcock, the pilot, or Brown, the navigator, had ever encountered.
From "1919 The Year That Changed America" by Martin W. Sandler
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.
