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
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
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.
The plane is usually crewed by five people: an aircraft commander, a pilot, a radar navigator, a navigator and an electronic warfare officer, according to a US Air Force fact sheet on the plane.
From Barron's • Jun. 15, 2026
They typically carry a crew of five - an aircraft commander, pilot, radar navigator, navigator and electronic warfare officer.
From BBC • Jun. 15, 2026
The 30-year-old navigator from rural Bangladesh normally passes seatime evading zombies on the videogame Minecraft.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 9, 2026
According to the post, Nautas’ name evokes the spirit of a “sailor, navigator, voyager, one who embarks on a journey and fears not the unknown.”
From Los Angeles Times • May 4, 2026
Behind their machine guns in Masha’s Pe-2, her navigator, Galya, and their tail gunner, Ivan, had both run out of ammunition—but not before Ivan had managed to shoot down one of the Luftwaffe planes himself.
From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein
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.
