cockpit

noun

cock·​pit ˈkäk-ˌpit 

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

Examples of cockpit in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

There were reports that a male passenger on Flight 2557 from Houston's Hobby Airport to Atlanta had tried to break into the cockpit, but that wasn't the case, Delta Air Lines said in a statement. —Arkansas Online, 19 Feb. 2026

Continue reading … AVIATION CRISIS — JetBlue flight makes emergency landing after engine failure fills cockpit with smoke. —FOXNews.com, 19 Feb. 2026

The hardest part of the NTSB hearing was watching the animations of what might have been visible from the two cockpits, said Sam’s mother, Dannah Lilley. —Emma Hurt, AJC.com, 19 Feb. 2026

Social media user kolhaolam Passenger shares frightening experience Passenger Alexandra Svokos told CBS News New York's Ali Bauman passengers could see and smell the smoke near the cockpit. —Ali Bauman, CBS News, 18 Feb. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1556, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing cockpit

• cockpit voice recorder

Rhymes for cockpit

• acquit
• admit
• amrit
• armpit
• backlit
• befit
• commit
• dalit
• dendrite
• emit
• illite
• misfit

Kids Definition

cockpit

noun

cock·​pit ˈkäk-ˌpit 

: a space or compartment in a usually small vehicle (as a boat, airplane, or automobile) from which it is steered, piloted, or driven