Meaning & use
naval
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Meanings
adjectivebefore a noun
Connected with a country's navy, its ships, or its sea forces.
Grammar: Always comes before a noun: a naval officer, naval base.
Patterns
- naval base
- naval officer
- naval forces
The naval base is home to several large warships.
Her uncle was a naval officer for thirty years.
A naval battle was fought off the coast in 1805.
adjectivebefore a nounspecialist
Concerning ships and sailing in general, especially in the past.
Grammar: Used in compound titles such as naval architect, naval history.
Patterns
- naval architect
- naval history
A naval architect designed the new ferry.
He studies naval history at the university.
The museum has a collection of naval instruments.
Common combinations
- naval base
- The country built a new naval base on the island.
- naval officer
- The naval officer saluted the flag.
- naval battle
- The naval battle lasted two days.
- naval blockade
- A naval blockade stopped supplies from reaching the port.
- naval power
- Britain was a leading naval power in the 1800s.
Synonyms and how they differ
- maritime
- Maritime refers to anything to do with the sea, including trade and shipping, while naval is only about navies.
- nautical
- Nautical is about sailing and navigation in general, not specifically military forces.
- marine
- Marine can mean relating to the sea or to soldiers who serve on ships, whereas naval refers to the navy as a whole.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: naval or navel?
naval vs navel
The navel is the small mark in the middle of the stomach, spelled with an e before the l, while naval relates to the navy.
Practice
The country decided to strengthen its ___ forces by building three new warships.
Choose one answer.
Naval means relating to the navy and warships. Navel is a body part, and novel and nasal are unrelated words.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “naval”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.