as in pilot
one who flies or is qualified to fly an aircraft or spacecraft
the solo flight from New York to Paris by the aviator Charles Lindbergh captured the imagination of people around the world
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Recent Examples of aviator
Glover, an accomplished naval aviator, first went to space in November 2020 as the pilot on the first operational Crew Dragon mission to the International Space Station.
—
Eric Berger, ArsTechnica, 17 Apr. 2026
The backstory Il Pellicano begins with a love story, that of Michael Graham, a Royal Air Force aviator, and Patsy Daszel, an American socialite, who met in the mid-1950s at a party in Pelican Point, California.
—Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 11 Apr. 2026
The museum has a collection of artifacts and aircrafts such as the Apollo 9 Command Module, a mock-up of the Lockheed Vega 5B, flown by Amelia Earhart, B-58 Hustler flight plans and various pictures of famous aviators and airplanes.
—Carlos Rico, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 Apr. 2026
The second aviator aboard the aircraft — the weapons systems officer — was rescued nearly two days later.
—Jonathan J. Cooper, Los Angeles Times, 7 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for aviator
Eric Berger, ArsTechnica, 17 Apr. 2026
The backstory Il Pellicano begins with a love story, that of Michael Graham, a Royal Air Force aviator, and Patsy Daszel, an American socialite, who met in the mid-1950s at a party in Pelican Point, California.
—Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 11 Apr. 2026
The museum has a collection of artifacts and aircrafts such as the Apollo 9 Command Module, a mock-up of the Lockheed Vega 5B, flown by Amelia Earhart, B-58 Hustler flight plans and various pictures of famous aviators and airplanes.
—Carlos Rico, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 Apr. 2026
The second aviator aboard the aircraft — the weapons systems officer — was rescued nearly two days later.
—Jonathan J. Cooper, Los Angeles Times, 7 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for aviator
Recent Examples of Synonyms for aviator
pilot
Noun
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Igbokwe, who is NBCUniversal‘s chairman of Television Studios, NBC Entertainment and Peacock scripted, discusses the return of the pilot process at NBC, the importance of multigenerational co-viewing and harnessing the power of broadcast and streaming platforms.—
Cynthia Littleton,
Variety,
24 Apr. 2026
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Second, when a plane crashes, the pilots die too.—
Joe Kiani,
Fortune,
24 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Aviator.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/aviator. Accessed 1 May. 2026.
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