What does navigator mean?
A navigator is someone who determines and guides a route, most traditionally aboard a ship or aircraft. The word can also refer to a device or software application that provides directions, such as a GPS navigator in a car. In figurative use, a navigator may be a person who guides an organization, project, or difficult course of action through unfamiliar territory. The term carries a sense of skill, direction, and practical expertise, although its nautical associations can make it sound formal or somewhat old-fashioned when used for people. Modern uses of navigator are especially common in transport and location technology. Related words such as navigate, navigation, and navigable all reflect the underlying idea of finding a safe or effective course. Together, they describe both the activity of route-finding and the tools or people responsible for carrying it out.
nounA person skilled in navigation who directs the course of a ship, aircraft, or other vehicle. By extension, it can refer to a device or software program that calculates routes and provides guidance.
- A person who directs the course of a ship, aircraft, or other vehicle.
- A device or software program that determines a route and provides directions or guidance.
- A person who guides a course of action, especially in a figurative or organizational sense.
"The navigator checked the charts before the ship entered the narrow channel."
"She served as the ship's navigator during the voyage across the Atlantic."
"The road navigator warned us that the highway ahead had been closed."
The regular plural is formed by adding -s; the plural is used for people, devices, systems, or software applications serving as navigators.
"Several navigators updated the charts before the expedition departed."
A navigator once steered a ship through open water; today, the same word can guide a driver through city streets.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does navigator come from?
English borrowed navigator in the early 16th century from French navigateur, which was derived from the Latin navigator, meaning a sailor or shipmaster. Latin navigare, the source of navigator, meant to sail or navigate and is related to navis, meaning ship. English later developed the closely related forms navigate, navigation, and navigable, while naval preserves another Latin derivative from the same ship-root.
Related word forms
How navigator is actually used
The word is used in maritime, aviation, and technological contexts. For a person who determines routes, 'navigator' is formal but established; in modern usage, it is also common for vehicle-navigation systems and software.
Easily confused with navigator
A navigator is a person, device, or program that provides guidance, whereas navigation is the activity or process of determining and following a route.