pilot
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pilot¹
- /ˈpaɪ̯.lət/
- [ˈpʰaɪ̯.lət]
- /ˈpɑɪ̯.lət/ Australia
- [ˈpʰɑ̟ɪ̯.lət] Australia
- /ˈpɒɪ̯.lət/ Australia
- [ˈpʰɒ̈ɪ̯.lət] Australia
- /ˈpaː.lət/
- [ˈpʰaː.lət]
Sounds like pielet, Pilate · Rhymes with -aɪlət
Where it comes from
From Middle French pilot, pillot, from Italian pilota, piloto, older also pedotta, pedot(t)o (the form in pil- is probably influenced by pileggiare (“to sail, navigate”)); ultimately from unattested Medieval Greek *πηδώτης (*pēdṓtēs, “helmsman”), from Ancient Greek πηδόν (pēdón, “blade of an oar, oar”), hence also Ancient and Modern Greek πηδάλιον (pēdálion, “rudder”).
noun pilots · pylote · pylot
- A person who steers a ship, a helmsman. They scud before the wind, and sail in open sea. Ahead of all the master pilot steers; And, as he leads, the following navy veers.
- A person who knows well the depths, shoals, and currents of a harbor or coastal area, who is hired by a vessel to help navigate the harbor or coast.
- A guide book for maritime navigation.
- An instrument for detecting the compass error.
- A pilot vehicle.
- A person authorised to drive such a vehicle during an escort.
- A guide or escort through an unknown or dangerous area. So we mounted our horses, and put out for that town, under the direction of two friendly Creeks we had taken for pilots.
- Something serving as a test or trial. We would like to run a pilot in your facility before rolling out the program citywide.
- The heading or excavation of relatively small dimensions, first made in the driving of a larger tunnel.
- A tone or signal, usually a single frequency, transmitted over a communications system for control or synchronization purposes.
- A person who is in charge of the controls of an aircraft.
- A sample episode of a proposed TV series produced to decide if it should be made or not. If approved, typically the first episode of an actual TV series. I think her biggest deal was she starred in a pilot.[…]Well, the way they pick TV shows is they make one show. That show's called a pilot. Then they show that one show to the people who pick shows, and on the strength of that one show, they decide if they wanna make more shows.
- A cowcatcher.
- A racing driver.
- A pilot light.
- One who flies a kite. Julia has become quite a good kite pilot. She has learned how to repeatedly buzz her father's head, coming within two feet, and not hitting him.
- A short plug, sometimes made interchangeable, at the end of a counterbore to guide the tool.
adjective pylote · pylot
- Made or used as a test or demonstration of capability. a pilot run of the new factory
- Used to control or activate another device. a pilot light
- Being a vehicle to warn other road users of the presence of an oversize vehicle or combination. a pilot vehicle
verb pilots · piloting · piloted · pylote · pylot
-
To control (an aircraft or watercraft).
I have visited more than half a dozen carrier training facilities, spent over 150 hours on jumpseats, piloted a Lockheed 1011 from MIA to LAX, visited numerous towers, rapcons, and centers, and discussed our commercial Air Transport System with everyone involved.
Similar: aviate
- To guide (a vessel) through coastal waters.
- To test or have a preliminary trial of (an idea, a new product, television show, etc.)
- To serve as the leading locomotive on a double-headed train. One of the Midland Lines' Birmingham R.C.W. Type 2 diesels, No. D5403, made the debut of its class in the Manchester area on July 28 when it appeared in the early hours on freight; after four days in the area it left for the south piloting B.R./Sulzer Type 4 diesel No. D88 on the 2.25 Manchester Cen
- To guide or conduct (a person) somewhere. Thus it came about that, three days later, I descended from the train at Styles St. Mary, an absurd little station, with no apparent reason for existence, perched up in the midst of green fields and country lanes. John Cavendish was waiting on the platform, and piloted me out to the car.
PILOT²
noun PILOTs
- Acronym of payment in lieu of taxes
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: navigate, aviate, cowcatcher, fender, buffer, trial, test, experimental, model, archetype, original, empirical, fly, pilot film, pilot program, lodesman
Translations
Every language
noun steerer
| 中文 | 領航 /领航 lǐngháng |
|---|---|
| Ελληνικά | πηδαλιούχος pidalioúchos |
| Русский | шту́рман štúrman, ко́рмчий kórmčij |
noun person who helps navigate the harbor or coast
| Español | práctico |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 도선사 doseonsa, 수로 안내인 suro annaein |
| 日本語 | 水先人 mizusakinin, 水先案内人 mizusaki annainin |
| 中文 | 引水人 yínshuǐrén, 引港 yíngǎng |
| Português | prático |
| Deutsch | Lotse |
| Ελληνικά | πηδαλιούχος pidalioúchos, πλοηγός ploïgós |
| Русский | ло́цман lócman |
noun controller of aircraft
| Español | piloto, aeronauta |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 파일럿 pailleot, 조종사 jojongsa, 비행사 bihaengsa |
| 日本語 | パイロット pairotto, 操縦士 sōjūshi, 飛行士 hikōshi |
| 中文 | 飛行員 /飞行员 fēixíngyuán, 駕駛員 /驾驶员 jiàshǐyuán |
| हिन्दी | पायलट pāylaṭ, हवाबाज़ havābāz, विमानचालक vimāncālak |
| Kiswahili | rubani |
| Português | piloto |
| Français | pilote |
| Deutsch | Pilot, Pilotin, Flugzeugführer, Flugzeugführerin |
| Italiano | pilota |
| Ελληνικά | πιλότος pilótos, χειριστής cheiristís, κυβερνήτης kyvernítis |
| Română | pilot |
| Русский | лётчик ljótčik, лётчица ljótčica, пило́т pilót, авиа́тор aviátor |
| Tiếng Việt | phi công |
| العربية | طَيَّار ṭayyār, طَيَّارَة ṭayyāra |
| עברית | טייס \ טַיָּס tayás |
noun sample TV series episode
| Español | piloto |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 파일럿 pailleot |
| 日本語 | パイロット pairotto |
| Português | piloto |
| Français | programme pilote |
| Italiano | episodio pilota |
| Ελληνικά | πιλότος pilótos, πιλοτικό επεισόδιο pilotikó epeisódio |
| Русский | пило́т pilót |
adj used as indicator
| Español | piloto |
|---|
adj made or used as a test
| Italiano | pilota |
|---|---|
| Русский | контро́льный kontrólʹnyj, про́бный próbnyj, эксперимента́льный eksperimentálʹnyj, о́пытный ópytnyj, пило́тный pilótnyj |
verb to control an aircraft or watercraft
| Español | pilotar, pilotear |
|---|---|
| Português | pilotar |
| Deutsch | führen |
| Italiano | pilotare |
| Ελληνικά | πιλοτάρω pilotáro, διευθύνω ðiefthíno, κυβερνώ kyvernó, χειρίζομαι çirízome, πλοηγώ ploïgó |
| Русский | пилоти́ровать pilotírovatʹ |
verb to guide through coastal waters
| Deutsch | lotsen |
|---|---|
| Italiano | comandare |
| Ελληνικά | κυβερνώ kyvernó |
| Русский | управля́ть upravljátʹ, вести́ vestí |
Talk about this word "pilot." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/pilot. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. pilot. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/pilot "pilot." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/pilot.
Cite this
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@misc{pilot_2026,
title = {pilot},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/pilot},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
