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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Internal Boeing communications show that company test pilots had identified problems with the system as early as 2016, two years before the first crash. Robert Alexander, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 Nov. 2025 Washington — The pilots in a deadly business jet crash in Michigan were performing a test flight themselves, following repairs, instead of waiting for a test pilot, when the aircraft plunged into woods near Lansing, the National Transportation Safety Board said in a preliminary report Thursday. Pete Muntean, CNN Money, 13 Nov. 2025 When the aircraft starts actual flight testing, a test pilot will be on board to oversee the flight and can start and stop the autonomy in real time. Abhishek Bhardwaj, Interesting Engineering, 6 Oct. 2025 Chosen from more than 8,000 applicants, the incoming astronaut class includes test pilots, engineers and scientists – including one woman who, significantly, has already spent time in orbit. Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 23 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for test pilot

Word History

First Known Use

1917, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of test pilot was in 1917

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Test pilot.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/test%20pilot. Accessed 24 Nov. 2025.

Kids Definition

test pilot

noun
: a pilot who puts new aircraft through tests

More from Merriam-Webster on test pilot

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!