navigate

Navigate means to plan and direct the course of a journey, especially by mapping a route and determining position and course. It can refer to moving a vehicle or person from place to place, or to finding one's way through a space, such as a building or a digital interface.

The word derives from Latin navigare “to sail,” from navis “ship” and agere “to drive.”

In maritime contexts, navigation relies on charts, compasses, celestial sightings, dead reckoning, radio navigation, and, in modern systems, satellite navigation such as GPS or GNSS, combined with radar and AIS for situational awareness. Aviation navigation involves flight planning, air routes, and navigation aids such as VOR/DME, ILS, and GPS to guide aircraft along precise paths. Road and pedestrian navigation depend on maps and route planning, with turn-by-turn guidance provided by GPS devices and smartphone apps. Indoor navigation uses beacons, Wi‑Fi positioning, and inertial sensors to estimate position inside buildings. Autonomous systems apply algorithms for path planning and localization to determine routes and movements in dynamic environments.

Digital navigation extends to traversing user interfaces and websites, where navigation means moving through menus, hyperlinks, or search results to reach information or features.

See also: navigation, navigator, route planning, wayfinding, geographic positioning systems.