noun · 8 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
/nævɪˈɡeɪʃən/
US:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
rhymes with -eɪʃən
CMU ARPABET:N AE1 V AH0 G EY1 SH AH0 N
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
CMU ARPABET 2:N AE2 V AH0 G EY1 SH AH0 N
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
The theory, practice and technology of charting a course for a road vehicle, ship, aircraft, or spaceship.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: uncountable, usually
Examples
An ocean-going yachtsman must be competent at night navigation
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
Traffic or travel by vessel, especially commercial shipping.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: uncountable, usually
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
A canal; a waterway comprising one or more canals and river stretches in communication with one another.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, usually
Examples
the Schuylkill Navigation
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
4
noun
Meaning 4
The act of accessing different components of the user interface of software.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: uncountable, usually
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
5
noun
Meaning 5
The process of finding a way through a difficult situation.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: uncountable, usually
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
6
noun
Meaning 6
the work of a sailor
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: seafaring, sailing
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: employment, work
Narrower terms: cabotage
7
noun
Meaning 7
the guidance of ships or airplanes from place to place
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: pilotage, piloting
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: steering, guidance, direction
Narrower terms: instrument flying, celestial navigation, astronavigation, dead reckoning
8
noun
Meaning 8
ship traffic
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
the channel will be open to navigation as soon as the ice melts
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: transportation, shipping, transport
History
Etymology
Borrowed from Middle French navigation, from Latin nāvigātiōnem, accusative singular of nāvigātiō (“sailing, navigation”), from nāvigō (“sail”). Morphologically navigate + -ion.
Across languages
Translations
142 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Afrikaans:
navigasie
— theory, practice and technology of charting a course for a ship, aircraft or spaceship
Albanian:
navigim
— theory, practice and technology of charting a course for a ship, aircraft or spaceship
Arabic:
مِلَاحَة
(milāḥa)
— theory, practice and technology of charting a course for a ship, aircraft or spaceship
Armenian:
նավիգացիա
(navigacʻia)
— theory, practice and technology of charting a course for a ship, aircraft or spaceship
Old Armenian:
նաւաստութիւն
(nawastutʻiwn)
— theory, practice and technology of charting a course for a ship, aircraft or spaceship
Azerbaijani:
naviqasiya
— theory, practice and technology of charting a course for a ship, aircraft or spaceship
Belarusian:
навіга́цыя
(navihácyja)
— theory, practice and technology of charting a course for a ship, aircraft or spaceship
Bengali:
ন্যাভিগেইশ্ন্
(nêbhigeiśn)
— theory, practice and technology of charting a course for a ship, aircraft or spaceship
Bulgarian:
навига́ция
(navigácija)
— theory, practice and technology of charting a course for a ship, aircraft or spaceship
Catalan:
navegació
— theory, practice and technology of charting a course for a ship, aircraft or spaceship
Catalan:
nàutica
— theory, practice and technology of charting a course for a ship, aircraft or spaceship
Chinese Cantonese:
導航 /导航
(dou6 hong4)
— theory, practice and technology of charting a course for a ship, aircraft or spaceship
Chinese:
導航 /导航
(tō-hâng)
— theory, practice and technology of charting a course for a ship, aircraft or spaceship
Chinese Mandarin:
導航 /导航
(dǎoháng)
— theory, practice and technology of charting a course for a ship, aircraft or spaceship
Coptic:
ⲕⲉⲙⲧϫⲟⲓ
(kemtjoi)
— theory, practice and technology of charting a course for a ship, aircraft or spaceship
Czech:
navigace
— theory, practice and technology of charting a course for a ship, aircraft or spaceship
Danish:
navigering
— theory, practice and technology of charting a course for a ship, aircraft or spaceship
Dutch:
navigatie
— theory, practice and technology of charting a course for a ship, aircraft or spaceship
Esperanto:
navigado
— theory, practice and technology of charting a course for a ship, aircraft or spaceship
Estonian:
navigatsioon
— theory, practice and technology of charting a course for a ship, aircraft or spaceship
Finnish:
navigointi
— theory, practice and technology of charting a course for a ship, aircraft or spaceship
Finnish:
suunnistus
— theory, practice and technology of charting a course for a ship, aircraft or spaceship
French:
navigation
— theory, practice and technology of charting a course for a ship, aircraft or spaceship
West-Frisian:
navigaasje
— theory, practice and technology of charting a course for a ship, aircraft or spaceship
Galician:
navegación
— theory, practice and technology of charting a course for a ship, aircraft or spaceship
Galician:
náutica
— theory, practice and technology of charting a course for a ship, aircraft or spaceship
Georgian:
ნავიგაცია
(navigacia)
— theory, practice and technology of charting a course for a ship, aircraft or spaceship
German:
Navigation
— theory, practice and technology of charting a course for a ship, aircraft or spaceship
Greek:
πλοήγηση
(ploḯgisi)
— theory, practice and technology of charting a course for a ship, aircraft or spaceship
Greek:
ναυσιπλοΐα
(nafsiploḯa)
— theory, practice and technology of charting a course for a ship, aircraft or spaceship
Hebrew:
נִוּוּט
(nivút)
— theory, practice and technology of charting a course for a ship, aircraft or spaceship
Hebrew:
נַוָּטוּת
(navatút)
— theory, practice and technology of charting a course for a ship, aircraft or spaceship
Hindi:
नेविगेशन
(nevigeśan)
— theory, practice and technology of charting a course for a ship, aircraft or spaceship
Hindi:
दिक्चालन
(dikcālan)
— theory, practice and technology of charting a course for a ship, aircraft or spaceship
Hungarian:
navigáció
— theory, practice and technology of charting a course for a ship, aircraft or spaceship
Icelandic:
skipstjórn
— theory, practice and technology of charting a course for a ship, aircraft or spaceship
Icelandic:
siglingafræði
— theory, practice and technology of charting a course for a ship, aircraft or spaceship
Icelandic:
leiðsaga
— theory, practice and technology of charting a course for a ship, aircraft or spaceship
Ido:
navigo
— theory, practice and technology of charting a course for a ship, aircraft or spaceship
Indonesian:
navigasi
— theory, practice and technology of charting a course for a ship, aircraft or spaceship
Irish:
loingseoireacht
— theory, practice and technology of charting a course for a ship, aircraft or spaceship
Italian:
nautica
— theory, practice and technology of charting a course for a ship, aircraft or spaceship
Italian:
navigazione
— theory, practice and technology of charting a course for a ship, aircraft or spaceship
Japanese:
ナビゲーション
(nabigēshon)
— theory, practice and technology of charting a course for a ship, aircraft or spaceship
Japanese:
航法
(kōhō)
— theory, practice and technology of charting a course for a ship, aircraft or spaceship
Kazakh:
навигация
(navigasiä)
— theory, practice and technology of charting a course for a ship, aircraft or spaceship
Korean:
내비게이션
(naebigeisyeon)
— theory, practice and technology of charting a course for a ship, aircraft or spaceship
Korean:
항법
(hangbeop)
— theory, practice and technology of charting a course for a ship, aircraft or spaceship
Kyrgyz:
навигация
(navigatsiya)
— theory, practice and technology of charting a course for a ship, aircraft or spaceship
Latvian:
navigācija
— theory, practice and technology of charting a course for a ship, aircraft or spaceship
Lithuanian:
laivyba
— theory, practice and technology of charting a course for a ship, aircraft or spaceship
Lithuanian:
navigacija
— theory, practice and technology of charting a course for a ship, aircraft or spaceship
Macedonian:
навигација
(navigacija)
— theory, practice and technology of charting a course for a ship, aircraft or spaceship
Malay:
navigasi
— theory, practice and technology of charting a course for a ship, aircraft or spaceship
Maltese:
navigazzjoni
— theory, practice and technology of charting a course for a ship, aircraft or spaceship
Mongolian:
жолоодох ухаан
(žoloodox uxaan)
— theory, practice and technology of charting a course for a ship, aircraft or spaceship
Mongolian:
навигаци
(navigaci)
— theory, practice and technology of charting a course for a ship, aircraft or spaceship
Norwegian Bokmål:
navigering
— theory, practice and technology of charting a course for a ship, aircraft or spaceship
Norwegian Nynorsk:
navigering
— theory, practice and technology of charting a course for a ship, aircraft or spaceship
Iranian Persian:
ناوْبَری
(nâvbari)
— theory, practice and technology of charting a course for a ship, aircraft or spaceship
Polish:
nawigacja
— theory, practice and technology of charting a course for a ship, aircraft or spaceship
Portuguese:
navegação
— theory, practice and technology of charting a course for a ship, aircraft or spaceship
Portuguese:
náutica
— theory, practice and technology of charting a course for a ship, aircraft or spaceship
Romanian:
navigație
— theory, practice and technology of charting a course for a ship, aircraft or spaceship
Russian:
навига́ция
(navigácija)
— theory, practice and technology of charting a course for a ship, aircraft or spaceship
Serbo-Croatian:
навига́ција
— theory, practice and technology of charting a course for a ship, aircraft or spaceship
Serbo-Croatian:
navigácija
— theory, practice and technology of charting a course for a ship, aircraft or spaceship
Slovak:
navigácia
— theory, practice and technology of charting a course for a ship, aircraft or spaceship
Slovene:
navigacija
— theory, practice and technology of charting a course for a ship, aircraft or spaceship
Spanish:
navegación
— theory, practice and technology of charting a course for a ship, aircraft or spaceship
Spanish:
náutica
— theory, practice and technology of charting a course for a ship, aircraft or spaceship
Swedish:
navigation
— theory, practice and technology of charting a course for a ship, aircraft or spaceship
Swedish:
navigering
— theory, practice and technology of charting a course for a ship, aircraft or spaceship
Tajik:
новбарӣ
(novbari)
— theory, practice and technology of charting a course for a ship, aircraft or spaceship
Tajik:
навигатсия
(navigatsiya)
— theory, practice and technology of charting a course for a ship, aircraft or spaceship
Thai:
การนําเครื่องบิน
(aircraft)
— theory, practice and technology of charting a course for a ship, aircraft or spaceship
Thai:
การเดินเรือ
(gaan-dəən-rʉʉa)
— theory, practice and technology of charting a course for a ship, aircraft or spaceship
Thai:
การนําทาง
(gaan-nam-taang)
— theory, practice and technology of charting a course for a ship, aircraft or spaceship
Turkish:
yolbul
— theory, practice and technology of charting a course for a ship, aircraft or spaceship
Turkish:
navigasyon
— theory, practice and technology of charting a course for a ship, aircraft or spaceship
Turkmen:
nawigasiýa
— theory, practice and technology of charting a course for a ship, aircraft or spaceship
Ukrainian:
навіга́ція
(navihácija)
— theory, practice and technology of charting a course for a ship, aircraft or spaceship
Urdu:
جَہاز رانی
(jahāz rānī)
— theory, practice and technology of charting a course for a ship, aircraft or spaceship
Urdu:
سَمْت شَناسی
(samt śanāsī)
— theory, practice and technology of charting a course for a ship, aircraft or spaceship
Urdu:
نیوِیگیشَن
(nevīgeśan)
— theory, practice and technology of charting a course for a ship, aircraft or spaceship
Urdu:
اِرائَت
(irāat)
— theory, practice and technology of charting a course for a ship, aircraft or spaceship
Uzbek:
navigatsiya
— theory, practice and technology of charting a course for a ship, aircraft or spaceship
Vietnamese:
sự điều hướng
— theory, practice and technology of charting a course for a ship, aircraft or spaceship
Vietnamese:
sự đi biển
— theory, practice and technology of charting a course for a ship, aircraft or spaceship
Armenian:
ծովագնացություն
(covagnacʻutʻyun)
— traffic or travel by vessel
Armenian:
նավավարություն
(navavarutʻyun)
— traffic or travel by vessel
Azerbaijani:
dənizçilik
— traffic or travel by vessel
Belarusian:
марапла́ванне
(maraplávannje)
— traffic or travel by vessel
Belarusian:
марапла́ваньне
(maraplávanʹnje)
— traffic or travel by vessel
Belarusian:
марапла́ўства
(marapláwstva)
— traffic or travel by vessel
Belarusian:
суднахо́дства
(sudnaxódstva)
— traffic or travel by vessel
Belarusian:
суднахо́дзтва
(sudnaxództva)
— traffic or travel by vessel
Bulgarian:
корабопла́ване
(koraboplávane)
— traffic or travel by vessel
Bulgarian:
морепла́ване
(moreplávane)
— traffic or travel by vessel
Catalan:
navegació
— traffic or travel by vessel
Chinese Mandarin:
航海
(hánghǎi)
— traffic or travel by vessel
Chinese Mandarin:
航行
(hángxíng)
— traffic or travel by vessel
Danish:
skibsfart
— traffic or travel by vessel
Danish:
søfart
— traffic or travel by vessel
Dutch:
scheepvaart
— traffic or travel by vessel
Esperanto:
navigado
— traffic or travel by vessel
Finnish:
merenkulku
— traffic or travel by vessel
French:
navigation
— traffic or travel by vessel
Galician:
navegación
— traffic or travel by vessel
German:
Schifffahrt
— traffic or travel by vessel
Indonesian:
navigasi
— traffic or travel by vessel
Irish:
loingseoireacht
— traffic or travel by vessel
Italian:
navigazione
— traffic or travel by vessel
Japanese:
航法
(kōhō)
— traffic or travel by vessel
Japanese:
航海
(kōkai)
— traffic or travel by vessel
Japanese:
航行
(kōkō)
— traffic or travel by vessel
Korean:
항법
(hangbeop)
— traffic or travel by vessel
Korean:
항해
(hanghae)
— traffic or travel by vessel
Korean:
항행
(hanghaeng)
— traffic or travel by vessel
Latin:
nāvigātiō
— traffic or travel by vessel
Lithuanian:
laivininkystė
— traffic or travel by vessel
Macedonian:
пловидба
(plovidba)
— traffic or travel by vessel
Polish:
nawigacja
— traffic or travel by vessel
Portuguese:
navegação
— traffic or travel by vessel
Romanian:
navigație
— traffic or travel by vessel
Russian:
пла́вание
(plávanije)
— traffic or travel by vessel
Russian:
морепла́вание
(moreplávanije)
— traffic or travel by vessel
Russian:
судохо́дство
(sudoxódstvo)
— traffic or travel by vessel
Serbo-Croatian:
морепло́вство
— traffic or travel by vessel
Serbo-Croatian:
moreplóvstvo
— traffic or travel by vessel
Spanish:
navegación
— traffic or travel by vessel
Swedish:
sjöfart
— traffic or travel by vessel
Swedish:
sjötrafik
— traffic or travel by vessel
Swedish:
luftfart
— traffic or travel by vessel
Swedish:
lufttrafik
— traffic or travel by vessel
Tagalog:
paglalayag
— traffic or travel by vessel
Thai:
การเดินเรือ
(gaan-dəən-rʉʉa)
— traffic or travel by vessel
Ukrainian:
пла́вання
(plávannja)
— traffic or travel by vessel
Ukrainian:
морепла́вання
(moreplávannja)
— traffic or travel by vessel
Ukrainian:
морепла́вство
(moreplávstvo)
— traffic or travel by vessel
Ukrainian:
суднопла́вство
(sudnoplávstvo)
— traffic or travel by vessel
Vietnamese:
hàng hải
— traffic or travel by vessel
