Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
🛤️ To find a way 🧭 To steer a vehicle
to navigate

to navigate

148 3.6
Find a safe way through a place or difficult situation
  • verb
  • /ˈnævɪˌɡeɪt/
translation icon : desenvolverse (en)
  • To navigate successfully in the meeting, she prepared a detailed agenda.
  • navigate the system
  • easy to navigate
  • difficult to navigate

Those are my five ways that I've navigated through life transitions.

Autoplay Next

Examples

  • Students as young as kindergarteners were able to navigate the library independently.

    Academic text (2013)

  • As such, leaders must use a different skill set to navigate these challenging waters.

    Academic text (2015)

  • You know, how do I navigate this new room?

  • But we just gotta do our best to navigate it the best that we can.

  • The personal success factors provide students with the ability to navigate a wide range of challenges.

    Academic text (2013)

  • The best way to navigate it is to prepare early.

  • At the same time, students would learn how to navigate the library more effectively.

    Academic text (2015)

  • Thoughtful facilitation by school staff can help students navigate challenges that sometimes arise.

    Academic text (2013)

  • Technology can facilitate person-to-person communication to help students navigate difficult processes such as applying for financial aid.

    Academic text (2015)

  • He used his smartphone to navigate through the unfamiliar city streets.

Synonyms

to guide
vsto navigate
313 1.0

To show someone the way by going with them

focuses more on planning and directing the course than accompanying
to steer
vsto navigate
224 1.6

To guide the direction of something, like a car or a conversation

is about careful planning and choosing a safe route through situations
to nav
vsto navigate
  • Informal
7.5

To use a device or app to find a route

is broader, covering careful course planning beyond only technological help
to find one's way
vsto navigate
3.6

To reach a place or learn how to keep going after difficulty

emphasizes directing and planning the course carefully rather than just arriving

Antonyms

to blunder
5 4.8

To move in a clumsy, confused way without clear direction

Phrasal Verbs

to navigate life
1 4.9

To deal with the problems and choices of everyday life

to navigate office politics
7.7

To handle people and power at work to get support and avoid trouble

to navigate the law
  • Specialized
8.4

To understand and use laws when dealing with legal problems

to navigate through life's challenges
5.5

To deal with problems and hard times in life

to navigate tough situations
5.1

To deal with difficult situations calmly and successfully

How Careful

to negotiate
  • Formal
801 3.7
to navigate
148 3.6
to rush in
36 3.1

Surface Forms

navigate infinitive
navigated past
navigated past participle
navigating present participle
navigates third person singular

Morphology

navigate = navigation (transparent) = navig + ate

This sense is an extension of the core meaning of 'navigation' (finding or directing a way), and learners can readily generalize the idea to moving through places or situations.

Etymology

Navigate comes from the Latin roots navis 'ship' and agere 'to drive', and it keeps the picture of steering a ship. So to navigate a difficult situation is to 'find or plan your way' through it, like steering safely through rocks.