navigate

To find the route and tell a driver which way to go.

• You drive, and I will navigate.
• She navigated for her brother using a paper map.
• Can you help me navigate through the city?

How to use it: navigate for someone (Can you navigate for me while I drive?)

Similar words: give directions, guide

Common phrases: navigate for someone, help navigate

To plan and follow the route of a ship, aircraft, or other vehicle.

• The captain navigated the ship safely.
• Pilots once navigated by the stars.
• We navigated through thick fog using radar.

How to use it: navigate something through something (She navigated the ship through the narrow channel.); navigate by something (Early sailors navigated by the stars.)

Similar words: steer, pilot

Common phrases: navigate a ship, navigate through something, navigate by something

To travel across water in a boat or ship.

• They navigated across the lake.
• We navigated to the next island before sunset.
• Small boats have navigated these waters for centuries.

How to use it: navigate to somewhere (They navigated to the island in a small boat.)

Similar words: sail

Common phrases: navigate to somewhere, navigate the river, navigate coastal waters