1 [no object] plan and direct the course of a ship, aircraft, or other form of transport, especially by using instruments or maps:they navigated by the stars
[no object, with adverbial of direction] travel on a desired course after planning a route:he taught them how to navigate across the oceans
(of an animal or bird) find its way:whales use their own inbuilt sonar system to navigate
(of a passenger in a vehicle) assist the driver by planning a route and map reading:we’ll go in my car—you can navigate
Computing move around a website, the Internet, etc.: [with adverbial of direction]:I used a browser to navigate around the Web [with object]:software used to navigate the Internet
2 [with object] sail or travel over (a stretch of water or terrain), especially carefully or with difficulty:ships had been lost while navigating the narrowsthe drivers skilfully navigated a muddy course
[no object] (of a ship or boat) sail; proceed: [with adverbial of direction]:we sailed out while navigating around large icebergs
guide (a vessel or vehicle) over a specified route or terrain:she navigated the car safely through the traffic
informal guide or steer (someone):Ted was navigating her towards the other end of the room
