Definition

1. Noun:
   • The process or activity of accurately ascertaining one's position and planning and following a route: This is the core meaning, referring to the science and practice of determining location and direction during travel.
   • The passage of ships, aircraft, or vehicles: This meaning refers to the movement or traffic of vessels through a particular area.
   • The guidance of ships, aircraft, or vehicles from place to place: This refers to the act or skill of directing a course.

Examples of Usage

• Noun:
  • Modern cars rely on satellite navigation. (This shows the process of determining position and route.)
  • The river is closed to navigation due to the storm. (This shows the passage/movement of ships.)
  • His skill in navigation saved the ship during the fog. (This shows the act of guidance.)

Advanced Usage

• Celestial navigation: Determining position using the sun, moon, and stars.
  • Before GPS, sailors depended on celestial navigation.
• Inertial navigation: A system that uses sensors to calculate position without external references.
  • The submarine uses an inertial navigation system.
• To be under one's own navigation: To be operating independently.
  • The drone was under its own navigation for the final approach.

Variants and Related Words

• Navigate (verb): To plan and direct the route or course of a ship, aircraft, or other form of transport.
  • She learned to navigate using a map and compass.
• Navigator (noun): A person who navigates, especially as an official role on a ship or aircraft.
  • The navigator plotted the course across the ocean.
• Navigable (adjective): (Of a waterway) wide and deep enough for ships to travel through.
  • The channel is navigable only at high tide.

Synonyms

• Piloting: The action of operating the controls of an aircraft or ship.
• Steering: The action of guiding a course.
• Wayfinding: The process of determining and traveling a route, often used in broader contexts.

Related Phrases (Phrasal Verbs)

• Navigate through: To find a way to deal with a difficult situation.
  • She had to navigate through complex regulations. (Note: This is a figurative use of the verb 'navigate', not the noun 'navigation'.)

Related Idioms

• Plain sailing / Smooth sailing: Progress that is easy and without problems (originally a nautical term related to navigation).
  • Once we fixed the initial bug, the project was plain sailing.

Noun

1. the work of a sailor
2. ship traffic
   • the channel will be open to navigation as soon as the ice melts
3. the guidance of ships or airplanes from place to place