PILOT | English meaning - Cambridge Dictionary
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English (UK)

Meaning of pilot in English

pilot
noun [ C ]
uk
/ˈpaɪ.lət/ us
/ˈpaɪ.lət/

pilot noun [C] (AIRCRAFT)

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A2
a person who flies an aircraft:
a fighter/helicopter/bomber/airline pilot
 
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Air travel: workers on/with aircraft & spacecraft
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pilot noun [C] (SHIP)

a person with detailed knowledge of an area of water, such as that around a port, who goes onto a ship to direct it safely
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Navigation & shipwrecks
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pilot noun [C] (TEST)

a programme that is made to introduce a new radio or television series and test how popular it is:
If you'd seen the pilot, you'd know why they decided not to make a complete series of programmes!
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Broadcasting: programmes & other broadcasts
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pilot noun [C] (FLAME)

(also pilot light)
a small flame that burns all the time in a gas device, such as a cooker or a device for heating water, and that starts the main flame burning when the gas is turned on
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Fire & flame
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pilot
adjective [ before noun ]
uk
/ˈpaɪ.lət/ us
/ˈpaɪ.lət/
A pilot plan, product, or system is used to test how good something is before introducing it:
If the pilot scheme is successful, many more homes will be offered the new television service.
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Advertising and marketing
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pilot
verb [ T ]
uk
/ˈpaɪ.lət/ us
/ˈpaɪ.lət/

pilot verb [T] (AIRCRAFT)

to fly an aircraft:
She piloted the aircraft to safety after one of the engines failed.
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Air travel: travelling by aircraft
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pilot verb [T] (TEST)

to test a new product before it is sold:
We shall pilot several new cosmetic products to selected potential purchasers.
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Advertising and marketing
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pilot verb [T] (INTRODUCE)

[ usually + adv/prep ] mainly UK
to be responsible for introducing a new law or system and making certain it is established:
20 years ago he piloted a bill through Parliament on working conditions.
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UK politics: legislation & law-making
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pilot verb [T] (SHIP)

to direct a ship into a port or through an area of water
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Navigation & shipwrecks
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(Definition of pilot from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

pilot | American Dictionary

pilot
noun [ C ]
us
/ˈpɑɪ·lət/

pilot noun [C] (PERSON)

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a person who flies an aircraft, or someone who directs a ship safely through an area of water:
an airline pilot
a harbor pilot

pilot

verb [ T ] us
/ˈpɑɪ·lət/
He piloted the ship through the busy harbor.
pilot
adjective [ not gradable ]
us
/ˈpɑɪ·lət/

pilot adjective [not gradable] (TEST)

(of a plan, product, or system) done as a test before introducing it:
From the pilot episode, this looks to be one of the best new shows we’ll see this fall.

pilot

verb [ T ] us
/ˈpɑɪ·lət/
Our district is piloting a day-care program.
(Definition of pilot from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

pilot | Business English

pilot
noun [ C ]
uk
/ˈpaɪlət/ us
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TRANSPORT
a person who flies aircraft:
He became a commercial airline pilot after leaving the airforce.
He earned his pilot's licence in the US.
MARKETING
a television or radio programme that is made to test how popular it is with an audience in order to decide whether to make a new series:
They commissioned a pilot to test audience reactions.
COMMERCE, MARKETING
a test done by a business over a short period to see if a particular product, service, etc. is worth investing in:
Assuming the pilot is successful, there are plans to build a further two factories by the end of next year.

See also

autopilot
pilot
verb [ T ]
uk
/ˈpaɪlət/ us
TRANSPORT
to fly an aircraft:
She pilots planes for the US Postal Service.
MARKETING
to test a new idea for a product, service, etc. over a short period to see whether it is worth developing and investing in:
The scheme is being piloted by a few councils with a view to extending it nationwide.
GOVERNMENT, WORKPLACE
to be responsible for making sure something develops or goes through a process without problems:
pilot sth through sth Two congressmen, one Democrat and one Republican, piloted the bill through the House.
pilot
adjective [ before noun ]
  MARKETING
uk
/ˈpaɪlət/ us
a pilot product, programme, project, etc. is something that is tested first over a short period to see whether it is worth developing and investing in:
pilot programme/scheme/study The pilot scheme proved that CCTV was a cost-effective way of reducing inner-city crime.
The pilot episode of the series had the biggest viewing numbers of the year.
(Definition of pilot from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Examples of pilot

pilot
He passed these instructions to the pilots that launched at 10:42 and afterward.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
In another fragment this function of piloting all things is served by "the intelligence by which all things are steered through all things".
From the Cambridge English Corpus
Each questionnaire was piloted twice, which improved the wording and relevance of the questions.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
As a check on the difficulty levels of the two versions, they were piloted on the 20 learners mentioned earlier.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
After piloting, the instrument was tested in a study in which subjects were assessed twice over 12 months by informants.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
As with fighter pilots in time of war, the options were to learn fast or die.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
I identified features of the pilots' talk that suggested the pilots had created an interactional context for human error.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
Follow-up clinics that can be accessed when patients or carers choose to are worth piloting and evaluating.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
The results of the query are automatically updated when the user changes the pilot's callsign in a spreadsheet cell.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
The average salary per soldier is about $3,500 per month, with top helicopter pilots and country commanders earning about $7,500.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
Unfortunately, there is a lack of definitive scientific data on which to base firm guidelines for pilots.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
We piloted penultimate versions with 20 people to judge whether it was clear and unambiguous.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
In addition to this general expertise, pilots need information on the routes they could follow, and weather reports.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
To meet their objectives, sales managers, unlike pilots, can easily alter the structure of the system they control.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
The questionnaire was piloted in a sample of practice patients to establish its comprehensibility and the completeness of responses to the individual items.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
See all examples of pilot
These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.

Collocations with pilot

pilot

These are words often used in combination with pilot.

Click on a collocation to see more examples of it.

bomber pilot
It is necessary for a bomber pilot to have only something like 400 hours in the air.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0
certified pilot
The certified pilot can then exercise a specific set of privileges in that nation's airspace.
From
Wikipedia
This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.
civilian pilot
It was originally a civilian pilot with experience in the leadership of some of the aircraft (1,000 flight hours) and holds a commercial aircraft license.
From
Wikipedia
This example is from Wikipedia and may be reused under a CC BY-SA license.
These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.
See all collocations with pilot
What is the pronunciation of pilot?
 

Translations of pilot

in Chinese (Traditional)
航空器, 飛行員, 船…
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in Chinese (Simplified)
飞行器, 飞行员, 船…
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in Spanish
piloto, práctico, pilotar…
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in Portuguese
piloto, testar, pilotar…
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in more languages
in Marathi
in Japanese
in Turkish
in French
in Catalan
in Dutch
in Tamil
in Hindi
in Gujarati
in Danish
in Swedish
in Malay
in German
in Norwegian
in Urdu
in Ukrainian
in Russian
in Telugu
in Arabic
in Bengali
in Czech
in Indonesian
in Thai
in Vietnamese
in Polish
in Korean
in Italian
विमानचालक…
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パイロット, 試（ため）す, 操縦（そうじゅう）する…
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pilot, kaptan, deneysel…
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tester, piloter, pilote [masculine]…
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pilot…
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piloot, loods, proef-…
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ஒரு விமானத்தை இயக்கம் ஒரு நபர்…
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पायलट, विमान-चालक…
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વિમાનચાલક…
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pilot, lods, pilot-…
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pilot, lots, prov-…
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juruterbang, malim, perintis…
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der Pilot / die Pilotin, der Lotse / die Lotsein, Versuchs-……
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prøve ut, fly, kjøre…
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پائلٹ (ہوائی جہاز چلانے والا)…
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пілот, льотчик, лоцман…
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пилот, летчик…
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పైలట్…
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طَيّار…
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পাইলট, একজন ব্যক্তি যিনি বিমান চালান…
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pilot, lodivod, pokusný…
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penerbang, pandu, percobaan…
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นักบิน, คนนำร่อง, ซึ่งใช้ทดสอบ…
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phi công, hoa tiêu, thí điểm…
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pilot, próbny, pilotować…
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조종사…
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pilota, pilotare…
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UK
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