autopilot

noun au·to·pi·lot \ ˈȯ-tō-ˌpī-lət \

Updated on: 26 Apr 2018

Definition of autopilot

1 : a device for automatically steering ships, aircraft, and spacecraft; also : the automatic control provided by such a device

2 : automatic pilot 2

See autopilot defined for English-language learners

Examples of autopilot in a Sentence

an airplane equipped with an autopilot
The plane was flying on autopilot.

Recent Examples of autopilot from the Web

Already, aircraft regulators are concerned that human pilots are forgetting how to fly on their own and may have trouble taking over from an autopilot in an emergency.

— jeremy straub, Smithsonian, "Would You Trust Drone Software to Pilot Your Flight?," 20 Apr. 2018
Oh's Eve is an American living in London whose life is unfolding distressingly on autopilot.

— julia felsenthal, Vogue, "For Sandra Oh, Killing Eve Was a Very Long Time Coming," 5 Apr. 2018
Self-driving cars, or cars with sophisticated autopilot capabilities, have caused two deaths in the last decade, the earliest phase of their commercial development — one in 2016, and one earlier this month.

— scott kirsner, BostonGlobe.com, "We understand human drivers make mistakes, so why not accept that robotic vehicles will, too?," 30 Mar. 2018
Although there has been at least one death attributed to Tesla’s autopilot feature, the tragic death of 49-year-old Elaine Herzberg is considered to be the first time an autonomous vehicle has killed a person who was not a passenger in that vehicle.

— patrick sisson, Curbed, "Uber’s fatal crash: Are driverless tests endangering pedestrians?," 19 Mar. 2018
There's just one problem with wearing the hue over and over and that's that guys tend to go on autopilot when getting dressed.

— GQ, "How to Wear Blue the Right Way, Right Now," 1 Mar. 2018
While some of our friends in Washington worry about rinky-dink outlays such as foreign aid, the biggest chunks of federal spending remain on autopilot.

— the editors, National Review, "Fiscal Do’s and Don’ts," 12 Feb. 2018
But there's a lot of dangers as well -- autopilot being one of them, doing the same old same old.

— gary graff, Billboard, "Simple Minds Talk New Album 'Walk Between Worlds,' Share Promo Video," 2 Feb. 2018
The Tesla autopilot is a Level 2 system, with Level 5 as the standard for a fully autonomous car.

— ashley halsey iii, Washington Post, "NTSB says driver in fatal Tesla crash was overreliant on the car’s ‘Autopilot’ system," 12 Sep. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'autopilot.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of autopilot

1916

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

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AUTOPILOT Defined for English Language Learners

autopilot

noun

Definition of autopilot for English Language Learners

: a device that steers a ship, aircraft, or spacecraft in place of a person

Learn More about autopilot

Spanish Central: Translation of autopilot Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about autopilot

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autopilot

Definition of autopilot

Examples of autopilot in a Sentence

Recent Examples of autopilot from the Web

First Known Use of autopilot

AUTOPILOT Defined for English Language Learners

autopilot

Definition of autopilot for English Language Learners

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autopilot

Definition of autopilot

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First Known Use of autopilot

AUTOPILOT Defined for English Language Learners

autopilot

Definition of autopilot for English Language Learners

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