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pilot

A pilot is something that serves as a model or basis for others of its kind. If you've been asked to write a pilot episode of a new TV program, that's like a test program, produced to determine viewer interest before investing in making the whole season.

Pilot comes from the Greek pēdon meaning "oar." Like an oar that steers a ship, a pilot steers or directs a plane. To pilot a plane is to fly it, and to pilot a boat is to navigate it out of a harbor. We also use pilot for test programs that help guide the course of a larger project. A school might launch a pilot breakfast program for a few students before introducing it to the whole school.

PRIMARY MEANINGS OF: pilot

1	n v	someone who is licensed to operate an aircraft in flight operate an airplane
2	n	small auxiliary gas burner that provides a flame to ignite a larger gas burner
3	n	something that serves as a model or a basis for making copies
4	n	an inclined metal frame at the front of a locomotive to clear the track

FULL DEFINITIONS OF: pilot

n someone who is licensed to operate an aircraft in flight

Synonyms:: airplane pilot

Examples:: Edward Vernon Rickenbacker
the most decorated United States combat pilot in World War I (1890-1973)

Types:: show 10 types...; hide 10 types...; barnstormer, stunt flier, stunt pilot
a pilot who travels around the country giving exhibits of stunt flying and parachuting; captain, senior pilot
the pilot in charge of an airship; combat pilot
airplane pilot who fights in an action between two military forces; co-pilot, copilot
a relief pilot on an airplane; kamikaze
a pilot trained and willing to cause a suicidal crash; test pilot
a pilot hired to fly experimental airplanes through maneuvers designed to test them; wingman
the pilot who positions his aircraft outside and behind (on the wing of) the leader of a flying formation; fighter pilot
a military or naval pilot of fighter planes; group captain
a commissioned officer (especially one in the Royal Air Force) equivalent in rank to a colonel in the army; strafer
a combat pilot who strafes the enemy

Type of:: aeronaut, airman, aviator, flier, flyer
someone who operates an aircraft

n a person qualified to guide ships through difficult waters going into or out of a harbor

Type of:: Jack, Jack-tar, gob, mariner, old salt, sea dog, seafarer, seaman, tar
a man who serves as a sailor

v operate an airplane

Synonyms:: aviate, fly

: fly
transport by aeroplane; fly
travel in an airplane; fly
travel over (an area of land or sea) in an aircraft

Types:: show 12 types...; hide 12 types...; fly blind
fly an airplane solely by relying on instruments; fly contact
fly a plane by using visible landmarks or points of reference; solo
fly alone, without a co-pilot or passengers; test fly
test a plane; jet
fly a jet plane; glide
fly in or as if in a glider plane; hydroplane, seaplane
glide on the water in a hydroplane; balloon
ride in a hot-air balloon; flat-hat, hedgehop
fly very close to the ground; hang glide, soar
fly by means of a hang glider; kite
soar or fly like a kite; sailplane, soar
fly a plane without an engine

Type of:: control, operate
handle and cause to function

v act as the navigator in a car, plane, or vessel and plan, direct, plot the path and position of the conveyance

Synonyms:: navigate

Types:: astrogate
guide in interplanetary travel

Type of:: channelise, channelize, direct, guide, head, maneuver, manoeuver, manoeuvre, point, steer
direct the course; determine the direction of travelling

n small auxiliary gas burner that provides a flame to ignite a larger gas burner

Synonyms:: pilot burner, pilot light

Type of:: gas burner, gas jet
burner such that combustible gas issues from a nozzle to form a steady flame

n something that serves as a model or a basis for making copies

Synonyms:: archetype, original

Type of:: example, model
a representative form or pattern

n a program exemplifying a contemplated series; intended to attract sponsors

Synonyms:: pilot film, pilot program

Type of:: TV program, TV show, television program, television show
a program broadcast by television

n an inclined metal frame at the front of a locomotive to clear the track

Synonyms:: buffer, cowcatcher, fender

Type of:: framework
a structure supporting or containing something

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