1
a
: a pit or enclosure for cockfights
b
: a place noted for especially bloody, violent, or long-continued conflict
2
obsolete
: the pit of a theater
3
: a compartment in a sailing warship used as quarters for junior officers and for treatment of the wounded in an engagement
4
: a space or compartment in a usually small vehicle (such as a boat, airplane, or automobile) from which it is steered, piloted, or driven see airplane illustration
Examples of cockpit in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
That design—marked by athletic lines, a bubble cockpit, and butterfly doors—still feels fresh more than three decades later and traces of it can still be seen across the McLaren lineup.
—
Bryan Hood, Robb Report, 23 Apr. 2024
The driver’s cockpit of a plow looks like a spaceship, with a dozen blinking buttons and several joysticks.
—Jacob Spetzler, The Denver Post, 19 Apr. 2024
Its eVTOL, called Alia, is vaguely based on the skeleton of an Arctic tern, with a fishbowl cockpit.
—Gideon Lewis-Kraus, The New Yorker, 15 Apr. 2024
The plane itself even has a removable roof to reveal a detailed cockpit, seats, a toilet, and a catering area that can serve drinks to travelers.
—Alida Nugent, Peoplemag, 10 Apr. 2024
Kids will have the opportunity to sit in the cockpits of a T-6 and Parasol.
—Allison Kiehl, The Enquirer, 31 Mar. 2024
It’s also got a lot of things the old model didn’t have, like a digital cockpit inspired by fighter jets, a convertible top that goes up or down at the flick of a switch, or Remote Rev, providing the ability to rev the car’s engine remotely using the key fob.
—Josh Max, Forbes, 29 Mar. 2024
Russian President Vladimir Putin sits in the cockpit of a helicopter simulator at an aviation facility in Torzhok on Wednesday.
—Reuters, NBC News, 28 Mar. 2024
The pilots invited the children to see the cockpit of the military plane, and Italian medics brought toys.
—Nariman El-Mofty Alan Yuhas, New York Times, 25 Mar. 2024
Bryan Hood, Robb Report, 23 Apr. 2024
The driver’s cockpit of a plow looks like a spaceship, with a dozen blinking buttons and several joysticks.
—Jacob Spetzler, The Denver Post, 19 Apr. 2024
Its eVTOL, called Alia, is vaguely based on the skeleton of an Arctic tern, with a fishbowl cockpit.
—Gideon Lewis-Kraus, The New Yorker, 15 Apr. 2024
The plane itself even has a removable roof to reveal a detailed cockpit, seats, a toilet, and a catering area that can serve drinks to travelers.
—Alida Nugent, Peoplemag, 10 Apr. 2024
Kids will have the opportunity to sit in the cockpits of a T-6 and Parasol.
—Allison Kiehl, The Enquirer, 31 Mar. 2024
It’s also got a lot of things the old model didn’t have, like a digital cockpit inspired by fighter jets, a convertible top that goes up or down at the flick of a switch, or Remote Rev, providing the ability to rev the car’s engine remotely using the key fob.
—Josh Max, Forbes, 29 Mar. 2024
Russian President Vladimir Putin sits in the cockpit of a helicopter simulator at an aviation facility in Torzhok on Wednesday.
—Reuters, NBC News, 28 Mar. 2024
The pilots invited the children to see the cockpit of the military plane, and Italian medics brought toys.
—Nariman El-Mofty Alan Yuhas, New York Times, 25 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'cockpit.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near cockpit
Cite this Entry
“Cockpit.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cockpit. Accessed 27 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
cockpit
noun
cock·pit
ˈkäk-ˌpit 
: a space or compartment in a usually small vehicle (as a boat, airplane, or automobile) from which it is steered, piloted, or driven
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