A waypoint is an intermediate point or place on a route or line of travel, a stopping point or point at which course is changed. It is a point of reference that can be used for location and navigation. Waypoints can be the specific latitude and longitude of a location, and for air navigation, altitude is also included. Waypoints have traditionally been associated with distinctive features of the real world, such as rock formations, springs, oases, mountains, buildings, roadways, waterways, railways, and so on.

In modern times, waypoints are sets of coordinates that identify a point in physical space, and they have become widespread for navigational use by the layman since the development of advanced navigational systems, such as the Global Positioning System (GPS) and certain other types of radio navigation. Waypoints can be a destination, a fix along a planned course used to make a journey, or simply a point of reference useful for navigation.

In air navigation, waypoints are used to define an area navigation route or the flight path of an aircraft employing area navigation. They are identified as either fly-by waypoints, which require turn anticipation to allow tangential interception of the next segment of a route or procedure, or flyover waypoints, which are waypoints at which a turn is initiated in order to join the next segment of a route or procedure.