sextant

noun

sex·​tant ˈsek-stənt 

: an instrument for measuring angular distances used especially in navigation to observe altitudes of celestial bodies (as in ascertaining latitude and longitude)

Illustration of sextant

Examples of sextant in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Artifacts found on the island include a woman’s mirror compact similar to one Earhart was known to carry, a cosmetic jar, a jackknife, and a wooden box that appeared to once contain a sextant, a navigation instrument. —Katie Hunt, CNN Money, 28 Oct. 2025

The navigator would also use a periscopic sextant to peer through the roof of the aircraft and calculate position based on the sun and stars — exactly like an ancient mariner. —Cnn.com Wire Service, Mercury News, 5 Aug. 2025

Nine months of starlight and sea air—chess, books, sewing, the sextant and the nautical almanac, bibulous pit stops in scenic ports—ended abruptly one March morning when a sperm whale smashed a hole in their boat. —Dan Piepenbring, Harpers Magazine, 18 June 2025

Sharpen your sextant: Refine your value proposition. —Wayne Anderman, Forbes.com, 10 June 2025

Word History

Etymology

New Latin sextant-, sextans sixth part of a circle, from Latin, sixth part, from sextus sixth

First Known Use

1628, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for sextant

• extant

Kids Definition

sextant

noun

sex·​tant ˈsek-stənt 

: a navigational instrument for measuring the angle between the horizon and the sun or a star in order to find out the latitude (as of a ship)