sextant

[US]/'sekst(ə)nt/
[UK]/'sɛkstənt/
Frequency: Very High

Translation

n. (navigational instrument used at sea) - sextant
Word Forms
Pluralsextants

Example Sentences

The sailor used a sextant to navigate the open sea.

A sextant is a navigational instrument used to measure the angle between two visible objects.

Mariners rely on a sextant for celestial navigation.

The sextant was invented in the 18th century.

Using a sextant requires knowledge of celestial navigation principles.

The sextant is an essential tool for nautical navigation.

A skilled navigator can accurately determine their position using a sextant.

The sextant allows sailors to find their latitude and longitude at sea.

Modern sextants are often made of durable materials like brass or aluminum.

Sextants are still used by some sailors as a backup navigation tool.

Real-world Examples

It's an antique sextant. Sailors used these to find their position by the stars.

Source: The Big Bang Theory Season 9

Third mate: we have sextants and magnetic compass on board the boat.

Source: Maritime English listening

Raising his sextant, Captain Nemo took the altitude of the sun, which would give him his latitude.

Source: Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (Original Version)

Down in the bilge, in a duffel bag, were a radio, sextant, compass and clock, in case of emergency.

Source: The Economist (Summary)

Like the sextant here. $50 for this, which is a bargain.

Source: Science fiction movie

For this, you'll need a compass, a sextant, and an understanding of the night sky.

Source: The daily life of a chatty orange.

At nights, he hid in the shade, looking into the sky with a sextant.

Source: Pan Pan

The place is stored with great variety of sextants, quadrants, telescopes, astrolabes, and other astronomical instruments.

Source: Gulliver's Travels (Original Version)

They were first used by astronomers hundreds of years B.C. and sailors used them in the Middle Ages until astrolabes were replaced by sextants.

Source: CNN 10 Student English March 2019 Collection

There were old clocks and vases, mortars and retorts, knives and dolls, quill pens and bookends, octants and sextants, compasses and barometers.

Source: Sophie's World (Original Version)

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