sextant

noun

sex·​tant ˈsek-stənt 

: an instrument for measuring angular distances used especially in navigation to observe altitudes of celestial bodies (as in ascertaining latitude and longitude)

Illustration of sextant

Examples of sextant in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Black Spy stares at the moon through an elaborate sextant, adjusting various settings and making mental calculations, finally drawing an X on the ground with a compass before setting the bucket down. —Gyasi Hall, Longreads, 12 Sep. 2023

But otherwise, the astronauts’ situation was similar enough to that of Earthly sailors to use similar technology, which means instead of a marine sextant, astronauts used a space sextant. —Amy Shira Teitel, Discover Magazine, 15 June 2019

The sextant used by the captain of the rescue ship Carpathia sold for just under $97,000 in 2016. —James Rogers, Fox News, 1 Nov. 2020

The space sextant had two lines of sight, one fixed and one movable. —Amy Shira Teitel, Discover Magazine, 15 June 2019

Word History

Etymology

New Latin sextant-, sextans sixth part of a circle, from Latin, sixth part, from sextus sixth

First Known Use

1628, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

sextant

noun

sex·​tant ˈsek-stənt 

: a navigational instrument for measuring the angle between the horizon and the sun or a star in order to find out the latitude (as of a ship)