navigable

[ nav-i-guh-buhl ]

adjective

1. deep and wide enough to provide passage to ships:

   a navigable channel.

2. capable of being steered or guided, as a ship, aircraft, or missile.
3. Computers. designed or arranged in a way that facilitates moving from web page to web page or from one section to another on a website.

navigable

/ ˈnævɪɡəbəl /

adjective

1. wide, deep, or safe enough to be sailed on or through

   a navigable channel

2. capable of being steered or controlled

   a navigable raft

Derived Forms

• ˌnavigaˈbility, noun
• ˈnavigably, adverb

Other Words From

• nav·i·ga·bil·i·ty [nav-i-g, uh, -, bil, -i-tee], nav·i·ga·ble·ness noun
• nav·i·ga·bly adverb
• non·nav·i·ga·bil·i·ty noun
• non·nav·i·ga·ble adjective
• non·nav·i·ga·ble·ness noun
• non·nav·i·ga·bly adverb
• un·nav·i·ga·bil·i·ty noun
• un·nav·i·ga·ble adjective
• un·nav·i·ga·ble·ness noun
• un·nav·i·ga·bly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of navigable¹

First recorded in 1520–30; from Latin nāvigābilis, equivalent to nāvigā(re) “to sail” ( navigate ) + -bilis -ble

Example Sentences

Year after year, Caltrans moves mountains to keep that two-lane road navigable.

From Los Angeles Times

Army Corps of Engineers, which maintains the shipping channel in Baltimore to ensure that it is navigable, would fully cover the costs of clearing the channel.

From New York Times

An appeals court hundreds of miles away will determine later this year if a federal judge was right when he ordered the buoys removed for violating a law against construction on a navigable waterway.

From Seattle Times

In a 2-1 ruling the judges said the buoys along a 1,000-foot section of the river near Eagle Pass violated a 19th-century law giving national agencies purview over “navigable” rivers.

From Washington Times

For months, Texas has asserted that parts of the Rio Grande are not subject to federal laws protecting navigable waters.

From Seattle Times

Related Words

• passable