navigation instruments
Direction-finding devices
Navigation instruments are tools used to determine position, direction, or course during travel—especially at sea or in the air.
Traditional examples include the compass, sextant, and astrolabe; modern ones include GPS receivers and radar.
The captain checked his navigation instruments before entering the fog.
The term often appears in contexts of aviation safety and maritime regulation.
- marine chronometerPrecise nautical timekeeping instrument
- GPS receiverSatellite positioning device
- compassDevice showing cardinal directions
- magnetic northCompass-indicated pole direction
- true northDirection to the pole
gyroscope · sextant · astrolabe · radar · lead line · barometer · sonar · cross-staff · echo sounder · clinometer · celestial globe · star chart · autopilot · ship's wheel · rangefinder · quadrant · nautical chart · altimeter
navigation instrumentswandering
Traveling with no fixed course
getting lost · dead reckoning · gut instinct · trial and error · intuition
navigation, navigate, navigated, navigating, navigator, navigators, navigational, navigable, unnavigable