Pilot Definition

pīlət

piloted, piloting, pilots

noun

pilots

A person qualified to operate the controls of an aircraft or spacecraft.

Webster's New World

One who guides or directs a course of action for others.

American Heritage

A guide; leader.

Webster's New World

A device that guides the action of a machine or machine part.

Webster's New World

A metal shield on the front of a locomotive, for deflecting obstructions from the track.

Webster's New World

Synonyms:

Synonyms:
coxswain
wheelman
man at the controls
man at the wheel
navigator
steersman
helmsman
airplane pilot
pilot film
pilot program
archetype
original
pilot-light
pilot burner
cowcatcher

verb

piloted, piloting, pilots

To act as a pilot of, on, in, or over.

Webster's New World

To guide; conduct; lead.

Webster's New World

To steer or control the course of.

Piloted the visitors around the city.

American Heritage

To control (an aircraft or watercraft).

Wiktionary

To guide (a vessel) through coastal waters.

Wiktionary

Synonyms:

adjective

That serves as a guide or guiding device.

Webster's New World

Serving as a tentative model for future experiment or development.

A pilot project.

American Heritage

Serving or leading as guide.

American Heritage

That serves as an activating device.

Webster's New World

That serves as a trial unit for experimentation or testing.

Webster's New World

Synonyms:

Other Word Forms of Pilot

Noun

Singular:

pilot

Plural:

pilots

Origin of Pilot

Obsolete French helmsman from Old French from Old Italian pilota alteration of pedota from Medieval Greek pēdōtēs from Greek pēda steering oar pl. of pēdon blade of an oar ped- in Indo-European roots

From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
From Middle French pilot, pillot, from Italian piloto, from Late Latin pillottus; perhaps ultimately from Ancient Greek πηδόν (pÄ“don, “blade of an oar, oar") , hence also Ancient and Modern Greek πηδάλιον (pÄ“dalion), "rudder" .

From Wiktionary