pilot
Forms
- Plural
- pilots
- present (v1)
- pilot
- past (v2)
- piloted
- past participle (v3)
- piloted
- present participle
- piloting
- 3rd person singular
- pilots
Definitions
1.A person who steers a ship, a helmsman.
- He decided to become a pilot.
2.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.
- He decided to become a pilot.
3.A guide book for maritime navigation.
- He decided to become a pilot.
4.An instrument for detecting the compass error.
- He decided to become a pilot.
1.Made or used as a test or demonstration of capability.
- The pilot plant showed the need for major process changes.
2.Used to control or activate another device.
3.Being a vehicle to warn other road users of the presence of an oversize vehicle or combination.
1.To control (an aircraft or watercraft).
Frequency
Overall
Uncommon· #2208
By learning goal
- Everyday conversation
- Rare
- General reading & writing
- Uncommon
- Academic
- Rare
- Literature
- Rare
Etymology
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 Byzantine Greek *πηδώτης (*pēdṓtēs, “helmsman”)