navigable
adjective
nav·i·ga·ble
ˈna-vi-gə-bəl 
1
a
: deep enough and wide enough to afford passage to ships
navigable waterways
b
: capable of being navigated
navigable terrain
2
: capable of being steered
Examples of navigable in a Sentence
The marsh was navigable only by canoe.
this map shows which rivers are navigable and which aren't
Recent Examples on the Web
At least 900 of them occurred near bridges identified by the U.S. Department of Transportation as spanning navigable waters.
—
USA TODAY, 11 Apr. 2024
Explore the ocean and its navigable shallow waters for a fun day trip.
—Caroline Rogers, Southern Living, 2 Apr. 2024
For months, Texas has asserted that parts of the Rio Grande are not subject to federal laws protecting navigable waters.
—CBS News, 1 Dec. 2023
Meanwhile, the Corps plans to begin a dredging project to deepen 445 miles of the Arkansas River's navigable channel in 2025.
—Aaron Gettinger, Arkansas Online, 9 Aug. 2023
And many seemingly landlocked cities, like Richmond and Fredericksburg, lie near the last navigable point of major rivers that stretch fingers of trade and commerce into the country’s interior.
—Philip Kennicott, Washington Post, 27 Mar. 2024
After a freighter hit the Sunshine Skyway Bridge in Tampa Bay, Florida, in 1980, causing a collapse that was tied to 35 fatalities, safety engineers became far more focused on protecting the structures above navigable waters.
—Sophie Hills, The Christian Science Monitor, 26 Mar. 2024
Sightings could happen more frequently as sea ice melts and the Northwest Passage becomes increasingly navigable, allowing the whales to wander from their natural habitat.
—Jack Knudson, Discover Magazine, 14 Mar. 2024
This is further complicated by one of Royal’s fundamental design goals with the Icon class of ships, which is enhancing the readily navigable connections between areas.
—Brett Berk, Robb Report, 4 Mar. 2024
USA TODAY, 11 Apr. 2024
Explore the ocean and its navigable shallow waters for a fun day trip.
—Caroline Rogers, Southern Living, 2 Apr. 2024
For months, Texas has asserted that parts of the Rio Grande are not subject to federal laws protecting navigable waters.
—CBS News, 1 Dec. 2023
Meanwhile, the Corps plans to begin a dredging project to deepen 445 miles of the Arkansas River's navigable channel in 2025.
—Aaron Gettinger, Arkansas Online, 9 Aug. 2023
And many seemingly landlocked cities, like Richmond and Fredericksburg, lie near the last navigable point of major rivers that stretch fingers of trade and commerce into the country’s interior.
—Philip Kennicott, Washington Post, 27 Mar. 2024
After a freighter hit the Sunshine Skyway Bridge in Tampa Bay, Florida, in 1980, causing a collapse that was tied to 35 fatalities, safety engineers became far more focused on protecting the structures above navigable waters.
—Sophie Hills, The Christian Science Monitor, 26 Mar. 2024
Sightings could happen more frequently as sea ice melts and the Northwest Passage becomes increasingly navigable, allowing the whales to wander from their natural habitat.
—Jack Knudson, Discover Magazine, 14 Mar. 2024
This is further complicated by one of Royal’s fundamental design goals with the Icon class of ships, which is enhancing the readily navigable connections between areas.
—Brett Berk, Robb Report, 4 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'navigable.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near navigable
Cite this Entry
“Navigable.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/navigable. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
navigable
adjective
nav·i·ga·ble
ˈnav-i-gə-bəl
1
a
: deep and wide enough to permit passage to ships
navigable rivers
b
capable of being navigated
navigable terrain
2
: capable of being steered
a navigable balloon
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