Definition

1. Noun:
   • A person who directs the route or course of a ship, aircraft, or other vehicle: A "navigator" is responsible for planning and controlling the path of travel, especially over water or through the air.
   • A person who explores by ship: Historically, a "navigator" was an explorer who traveled by sea to discover new lands or routes.
   • A ship's officer responsible for navigation: On a ship, the "navigator" is the officer tasked with determining the vessel's position and course.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • The navigator plotted a course to avoid the storm.
  • Captain Cook was a famous British navigator and explorer.
  • The pilot relied on the navigator's calculations to reach the destination.

Advanced Usage

• "Celestial navigator": A person who determines position using the sun, moon, and stars.
  • Before modern GPS, sailors had to be skilled celestial navigators.

Variants and Related Words

• Navigate (verb): To plan and direct the route or course of a vehicle.
  • It is difficult to navigate the narrow canals.
• Navigation (noun): The process or activity of planning and directing a route.
  • Satellites have revolutionized air navigation.
• Navigational (adjective): Relating to navigation.
  • The ship's navigational equipment was state-of-the-art.

Synonyms

• Helmsman: A person who steers a ship.
• Pilot: A person who operates the controls of an aircraft; also used for someone who guides ships in and out of harbor.
• Wayfinder: A person who finds paths, especially across the sea.

Related Phrases

• Chief navigator: The senior officer in charge of navigation on a ship or aircraft.
  • The chief navigator presented the voyage plan to the captain.

Noun

1. in earlier times, a person who explored by ship
2. the member of an aircrew who is responsible for the aircraft's course
3. the ship's officer in charge of navigation