test pilot

noun

: a pilot who specializes in putting new or experimental airplanes through maneuvers designed to test them (as for strength) by producing strains in excess of normal

Examples of test pilot in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Premiering August 16 on HBO, Lanterns stars Chandler as Hal Jordan, a former test pilot and legendary member of the Green Lantern Corps who is approaching retirement. — Derek Lawrence, Entertainment Weekly, 25 July 2026

Despite performing as well or better than their male counterparts, though, the Lovelace Woman in Space Program was conducted separately from NASA, and the space agency required that its astronauts be test pilots with jet time. — Robert Pearlman, ArsTechnica, 10 July 2026

Bennett is a former Navy helicopter pilot and served for over a decade and also worked as a test pilot and served in the Air National Guard. — Oren Oppenheim, ABC News, 26 June 2026

The inaugural flight took place from Bordeaux-Mérignac Airport in France, where test pilot Sébastien Dupont de Dinechin and copilot Fabrice Dougnac lifted off aboard the Falcon 10X for a mission lasting approximately two and a half hours. — Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 21 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1917, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for test pilot

• autopilot
• eyelet
• islet
• stylet

Kids Definition

test pilot

noun

: a pilot who puts new aircraft through tests