1
a
: one employed to steer a ship : helmsman
b
: a person who is qualified and usually licensed to conduct a ship into and out of a port or in specified waters
c
: a person who flies or is qualified to fly an aircraft or spacecraft
3
4
: a piece that guides a tool or machine part
5
: a television show produced and filmed or taped as a sample of a proposed series
piloted; piloting; pilots
1
: to act as a guide to : lead or conduct over a usually difficult course
2
a
: to set and conn the course of
pilot a ship
b
: to act as pilot of
pilot a plane
: serving as a guiding or tracing device, an activating or auxiliary unit, or a trial apparatus or operation
a pilot study
Synonyms
Examples of pilot in a Sentence
Noun
the airline is seeking experienced pilots to fly the new airplane
Verb
He is learning how to pilot a helicopter.
He skillfully piloted the ship into port during the storm.
Adjective
The group conducted a pilot program.
a new pilot program to train inner-city residents for jobs in the tech sector
Recent Examples on the Web
Mackenzie Mays, Los Angeles Times, 18 Apr. 2024
The new committee recommended Madison start with a pilot program before expanding to all districts.
—Claire Reid, Journal Sentinel, 18 Apr. 2024
Last month, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said the DOJ was developing a separate pilot program to give financial rewards to whistleblowers.
—Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez, Fortune, 17 Apr. 2024
About 56 million nets were distributed in Burkina Faso, Benin, and Côte d’Ivoire, among other countries, and several pilot studies found that the new nets were between 20% and 50% more effective than traditional ones in reducing mosquito exposure and reduced the risk of infection by up to 55%.
—Annalisa Merelli, STAT, 17 Apr. 2024
In February, social media users charged officials working on a cloud seeding pilot program in California with causing storms that hit the state, despite the technology not even being used before the storms in question.
—Koh Ewe, TIME, 17 Apr. 2024
In February, the district board approved extending the pilot program through the school year to test its effectiveness.
—Yana Kunichoff, The Arizona Republic, 16 Apr. 2024
The Iranians have F-4s, F-14s, MiG-29s, and Iranian pilots.
—Neal B. Freeman, National Review, 15 Apr. 2024
Minear originally planned for Lucy (Arielle Kebbel) to be their helicopter pilot.
—Patrick Gomez, EW.com, 5 Apr. 2024
Rocio Fabbro, Quartz, 18 Apr. 2024
The Dane County Sheriff's Office is also piloting body cameras this year in its West Precinct.
—Claire Reid, Journal Sentinel, 18 Apr. 2024
The Justice Department is piloting a new program meant to entice employees or other individuals involved in unlawful corporate behavior to report it in exchange for leniency—with conditions.
—Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez, Fortune, 17 Apr. 2024
The company is piloting the monolith dispenser as an answer to Chicago restaurants refusing to serve their product.
—Michael Loria, USA TODAY, 13 Apr. 2024
These drones have thus been piloted in places like Meghalaya, a state in northeastern India tucked into the Himalayas, and Rwanda, where over 80% of the population is rural.
—Simar Bajaj, NPR, 11 Apr. 2024
Along the way, Kay will explore bustling cities and cantinas, race across sprawling outdoor landscapes on her speeder, and pilot her ship the Trailblazer through the wilds of space.
—Todd Spangler, Variety, 9 Apr. 2024
Those four steps focus on explaining the purpose of the change, articulating how the change will be designed, testing or piloting the idea, and deploying and measuring the effectiveness of the new workplace structure.
—Tim York, Forbes, 28 Mar. 2024
The drivers would circle Koreatown, piloting a van filled with party girls.
—Brittny Mejia, Los Angeles Times, 26 Mar. 2024
Xander Zellner, Billboard, 31 Jan. 2024
Both Macdonald and Hsu were eyed for the pilot role that went to Polanco, but they were cast in later episodes.
—Jackie Strause, The Hollywood Reporter, 20 June 2023
In a YouTube reaction video to the pilot episode of Sister Wives, the 21-year-old reality star called out the role her dad played in their family in response to Kody's now-ex Meri Brown discussing the advantages of a polygamous lifestyle.
—Stephanie Wenger, Peoplemag, 1 May 2023
This is the minimalist path Google, with its experimental store in New York, Amazon and its pilot retail outlets, and now Meta are attempting to replicate.
—Adario Strange, Quartz, 26 Apr. 2022
Carly helps a perfectionist chef with stage fright reopen his family’s diner, all for the pilot episode of her television show.
—Carrie Wittmer, Vulture, 25 Dec. 2022
Three and a half years ago, San Francisco started a pilot program to compel more people into treatment who met certain strict criteria.
—Mallory Moench, San Francisco Chronicle, 3 Feb. 2023
One of those is a pilot program that would incentivize adults receiving unemployment benefits to earn their high school diploma by awarding them up to $4,000 for completing a diploma or equivalency program.
—Arika Herron, The Indianapolis Star, 4 Jan. 2023
Noun
In 2021, a public defense pilot program was created to help attorneys cope with a backlog of cases involving prisoners eligible for earlier release under the state’s latest progressive resentencing laws.
—Mackenzie Mays, Los Angeles Times, 18 Apr. 2024
The new committee recommended Madison start with a pilot program before expanding to all districts.
—Claire Reid, Journal Sentinel, 18 Apr. 2024
Last month, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said the DOJ was developing a separate pilot program to give financial rewards to whistleblowers.
—Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez, Fortune, 17 Apr. 2024
About 56 million nets were distributed in Burkina Faso, Benin, and Côte d’Ivoire, among other countries, and several pilot studies found that the new nets were between 20% and 50% more effective than traditional ones in reducing mosquito exposure and reduced the risk of infection by up to 55%.
—Annalisa Merelli, STAT, 17 Apr. 2024
In February, social media users charged officials working on a cloud seeding pilot program in California with causing storms that hit the state, despite the technology not even being used before the storms in question.
—Koh Ewe, TIME, 17 Apr. 2024
In February, the district board approved extending the pilot program through the school year to test its effectiveness.
—Yana Kunichoff, The Arizona Republic, 16 Apr. 2024
The Iranians have F-4s, F-14s, MiG-29s, and Iranian pilots.
—Neal B. Freeman, National Review, 15 Apr. 2024
Minear originally planned for Lucy (Arielle Kebbel) to be their helicopter pilot.
—Patrick Gomez, EW.com, 5 Apr. 2024
Verb
In nations like Iceland, Belgium, and the United Arab Emirates, governments are piloting and implementing four-day schedules.
—Rocio Fabbro, Quartz, 18 Apr. 2024
The Dane County Sheriff's Office is also piloting body cameras this year in its West Precinct.
—Claire Reid, Journal Sentinel, 18 Apr. 2024
The Justice Department is piloting a new program meant to entice employees or other individuals involved in unlawful corporate behavior to report it in exchange for leniency—with conditions.
—Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez, Fortune, 17 Apr. 2024
The company is piloting the monolith dispenser as an answer to Chicago restaurants refusing to serve their product.
—Michael Loria, USA TODAY, 13 Apr. 2024
These drones have thus been piloted in places like Meghalaya, a state in northeastern India tucked into the Himalayas, and Rwanda, where over 80% of the population is rural.
—Simar Bajaj, NPR, 11 Apr. 2024
Along the way, Kay will explore bustling cities and cantinas, race across sprawling outdoor landscapes on her speeder, and pilot her ship the Trailblazer through the wilds of space.
—Todd Spangler, Variety, 9 Apr. 2024
Those four steps focus on explaining the purpose of the change, articulating how the change will be designed, testing or piloting the idea, and deploying and measuring the effectiveness of the new workplace structure.
—Tim York, Forbes, 28 Mar. 2024
The drivers would circle Koreatown, piloting a van filled with party girls.
—Brittny Mejia, Los Angeles Times, 26 Mar. 2024
Adjective
The pilot episode of Hazbin Hotel was released in 2019 on YouTube, but the first season premiered on Jan. 18 on Amazon Prime.
—Xander Zellner, Billboard, 31 Jan. 2024
Both Macdonald and Hsu were eyed for the pilot role that went to Polanco, but they were cast in later episodes.
—Jackie Strause, The Hollywood Reporter, 20 June 2023
In a YouTube reaction video to the pilot episode of Sister Wives, the 21-year-old reality star called out the role her dad played in their family in response to Kody's now-ex Meri Brown discussing the advantages of a polygamous lifestyle.
—Stephanie Wenger, Peoplemag, 1 May 2023
This is the minimalist path Google, with its experimental store in New York, Amazon and its pilot retail outlets, and now Meta are attempting to replicate.
—Adario Strange, Quartz, 26 Apr. 2022
Carly helps a perfectionist chef with stage fright reopen his family’s diner, all for the pilot episode of her television show.
—Carrie Wittmer, Vulture, 25 Dec. 2022
Three and a half years ago, San Francisco started a pilot program to compel more people into treatment who met certain strict criteria.
—Mallory Moench, San Francisco Chronicle, 3 Feb. 2023
One of those is a pilot program that would incentivize adults receiving unemployment benefits to earn their high school diploma by awarding them up to $4,000 for completing a diploma or equivalency program.
—Arika Herron, The Indianapolis Star, 4 Jan. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'pilot.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Pilot.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pilot. Accessed 24 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
pilot
2 of 3 verb
: to act as pilot of : guide
pilot
3 of 3 adjective
: serving as a guiding or tracing device, as an activating or auxiliary unit, or to test a new invention or idea
a pilot study
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