The nave is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type building, the strict definition of the term "nave" is restricted to the central aisle.In a broader, more colloquial sense, the nave includes all areas available for the lay worshippers, including the side-aisles and transepts. The nave is distinct from the area reserved for the choir and clergy.

The term nave is from navis, the Latin word for ship, an early Christian symbol of the Church as a whole, with a possible connection to the "Ship of St. Peter" or the Ark of Noah. The term may also have been suggested by the keel shape of the vaulting of a church. In many Nordic and Baltic countries a model ship is commonly found hanging in the nave of a church,and in some languages the same word means both 'nave' and 'ship', as for instance Danish skib, Swedish skepp, Dutch schip or Spanish nave.