satnav

What it means

1. countableinformaluncountableA satellite navigation system; the navigation that is done via the use of such a system.

   Back then there was no satnav — you needed to keep a paper atlas in the delivery van and to consult it daily.

   1 more example

   The characters are dead-eyed waxworks which speak with all the nuance of a satnav.

   2026 September 15, Stuart Heritage, “No Big Deal review – is this how AI ends humanity … with a sitcom so bad it bores you to death?”, in The Guardian, →ISSN

2. CommonwealthcountableinformaluncountableA satellite navigation system receiver.

   Good thing we have a satnav to help us find our way.

   Synonyms: GPS receiver

In a sentence

Back then there was no satnav — you needed to keep a paper atlas in the delivery van and to consult it daily.

Where it comes from

Syllabic abbreviation of satellite navigation. Such formation from initial syllables is also alternatively classified as clipping of the compound type (producing a clipped compound), and it is sometimes categorized as blending (but blending stricto sensu involves initial and terminal parts of words that may be delimited by reanalysis).