Word.ws English Dictionary

navigable waters

navigable waters noun: used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see navigable, waters.

Noun

navigable waters pl (plural only)

  1. (plural, plural-only) Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see navigable, waters.
  2. (US, plural, plural-only) Those waters that are subject to the ebb and flow of the tide and/or are presently used, or have been used in the past, or may be susceptible for use to transport interstate or foreign commerce. A determination of navigability, once made, applies laterally over the entire surface of the waterbody, and is not extinguished by later actions or events which impede or destroy navigable capacity.

Words formed from navigable waters

  • traditional navigable waters

Questions about navigable waters

What does navigable waters mean?
Navigable waters means used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see navigable, waters.
What part of speech is navigable waters?
Navigable waters is a noun.

Words near navigable waters in the dictionary

  1. naviform
  2. navig
  3. navigabilities
  4. navigability
  5. navigable
  6. navigable waters
  7. navigableness
  8. navigably
  9. navigatability
  10. navigatable
  11. navigate

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: navigable waters (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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