navigate
verb
nav·i·gate
ˈna-və-ˌgāt 
navigated; navigating
1
: to travel by water : sail
navigated down to the mouth of the river
2
: to steer a course through a medium
specifically
: to operate an airplane
navigate by instrument
3
: get around, move
was well enough to navigate under his own power
1
a
: to sail over, on, or through
able to navigate the deep ocean waters
b
: to make one's way over or through : traverse
… navigate the Internet via hypertext links connecting information-rich computers around the world.—
Stephanie Losee
Stephanie Losee2
a
: to steer or manage (a boat) in sailing
b
: to operate or control the course of
navigate an airplane
Examples of navigate in a Sentence
For thousands of years, sailors navigated by the stars.
How about if you drive and I navigate?
I'd need a map to navigate the city.
Only flat-bottomed boats can safely navigate the canal.
He has learned to navigate in rough waters.
The downtown area is easily navigated on foot.
She has trouble navigating the stairs with her crutches.
It took us 10 minutes to navigate through the parking lot to the exit.
The captain navigated the ship.
He has had experience navigating airplanes through storms.
Recent Examples on the Web
Two approaches, one reckoning for higher education Harvard’s defiance and Columbia’s cooperation reveal two contrasting strategies for navigating the Trump administration’s intense scrutiny.
—Dalia Faheid, CNN Money, 5 June 2025
Each of these provisions could be tweaked or reversed to allow for passage in the Senate, where Thune has his own three-seat majority to navigate.
—David Sivak, The Washington Examiner, 5 June 2025
Haus of Hormones is a space for transgender and nonbinary people to gather and gain access to crucial resources including legal name and gender marker change paperwork support, navigating gender affirming care, HIV/STI testing and community discussions.
—Veronica Fernandez-Alvarado, Sacbee.com, 5 June 2025
Fire ants are known to form rafts with their bodies to get through flood waters, and arrange themselves into towers and bridges to navigate the landscape.
—Lauren Leffer, Popular Science, 5 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for navigate
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Dalia Faheid, CNN Money, 5 June 2025
Each of these provisions could be tweaked or reversed to allow for passage in the Senate, where Thune has his own three-seat majority to navigate.
—David Sivak, The Washington Examiner, 5 June 2025
Haus of Hormones is a space for transgender and nonbinary people to gather and gain access to crucial resources including legal name and gender marker change paperwork support, navigating gender affirming care, HIV/STI testing and community discussions.
—Veronica Fernandez-Alvarado, Sacbee.com, 5 June 2025
Fire ants are known to form rafts with their bodies to get through flood waters, and arrange themselves into towers and bridges to navigate the landscape.
—Lauren Leffer, Popular Science, 5 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for navigate
Cite this Entry
“Navigate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/navigate. Accessed 8 Jun. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
navigate
verb
nav·i·gate
ˈnav-ə-ˌgāt
navigated; navigating
1
a
: to travel by water
b
: to sail over, on, or through
navigate the Atlantic Ocean
2
a
: to direct one's course in a ship or aircraft
b
: to control the course of : steer
3
: to make one's way about, over, or through
navigate the new website
navigate the school's halls
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