Navy Meaning
/ˈneɪvi/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounA country's entire maritime military force, including ships and personnel.
nounA governmental department in charge of a country's maritime military force.
Sentence Examples
I'm looking for a navy blue raincoat, size 36.
I went into the navy.
The yard builds ships for the Navy.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The country's large ____ protects its shores with powerful warships.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
After finishing high school, several of his friends decided to join the ____.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English nave, navye, from Anglo-Norman, Old French navie, from Latin nāvigia < nāvigium, from Latin nāvigō, nāvis (“boat”), from Proto-Indo-European *néh₂us. Compare Ancient Greek ναῦς (naûs, “ship”), Persian ناو (nâv, “boat, warship”), Sanskrit नाव (nāva, “ship”), Old English nōwend (“mariner, sailor”). By surface analysis, Latin nav- + -y. Displaced native Old English sċiphere (literally “ship army”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"The skipper Mr. Cooke had hired at Far Harbor was a God-fearing man with a luke warm interest in his new billet and employer, and had only been prevailed upon to take charge of the yacht after the offer of an emolument equal to half a year's sea pay of an ensign in the navy."
— 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter X, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:
"The cover is as navy as a bruise."
— 2006, Samantha Hunt, The Seas: A Novel, page 57:
"The morning shadow on his chin was almost as navy as his heavy-lidded eyes, his cheekbones exquisitely sculptured in his haughty face."
— 2006, Carol Marinelli, Taken for His Pleasure, page 26:
"[…] there are chess ships and checker ships and those where acey-deucey is almost the only game, the sailors' own improved version of backgammon. Fliers from the seacoast of Iowa, anxious to be as navy as the rest, are usually the first to pick it up."
— 1943, Fletcher Pratt, The Navy has wings, page 167:
"Lieutenant Lindquist is navy through and through. I know she doesn't want to get out. Now, I know there's no way you can assign her to a navy ship, but there has to be something the navy can give her to keep her in space."
— 1993, Robert A. Frezza, McLendon's Syndrome, page 299:
Explore More B1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The country's large ____ protects its shores with powerful warships.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
After finishing high school, several of his friends decided to join the ____.