cockpit

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 (as a boat, airplane, or automobile) from which it is steered, piloted, or driven — see airplane illustration