navegar (por internet)
verbCEFR B2
What does “navegar (por internet)” mean in English?
to browse the internet
to browse the internet (navegar por internet / por la red — online navigation)
Example sentences
Según el informe, los adolescentes pasan una media de cinco horas al día navegando por internet sin ninguna supervisión.
According to the report, teenagers spend an average of five hours a day browsing the internet without any supervision.
Con la proliferación de los smartphones, la gente navega por la red desde cualquier lugar y en cualquier momento.
With the proliferation of smartphones, people browse the web from anywhere and at any time.
El buscador permite navegar entre millones de páginas de contenido en cuestión de milisegundos.
The search engine allows browsing through millions of pages of content in a matter of milliseconds.
How to use it
Navegar por internet (or navegar en internet in Latin American Spanish) means 'to browse the internet', 'to surf the web'. The preposition in Spain is usually por; in Latin America, en is also common. The verb navegar originally means 'to sail/navigate' (on water or in the air), and the internet sense is an extension of that metaphor. Key collocations: navegar por la red, navegar por una página web, el tiempo que pasamos navegando. The noun navegador (browser) derives from the same root.
Common mistake
Navegar por internet (Spain) vs. navegar en internet (Latin America) — both are accepted; don't flag one as incorrect. The B2 polysemy of navegar (sail, fly, browse) is important: context will always make the meaning clear. Also: navegador (browser) and navegar are frequently tested in digital-literacy contexts in B2 DELE preparation. Don't confuse with explorar (to explore/browse in a more active sense) or buscar (to search for something specific).