cockpit

American  

[kok-pit] / ˈkɒkˌpɪt /

noun

• cockpits
  plural

1. a space, usually enclosed, in the forward fuselage of an airplane containing the flying controls, instrument panel, and seats for the pilot and copilot or flight crew.

2. a sunken, open area, generally in the after part of a small vessel, as a yacht, providing space for the pilot, part or all of the crew, or guests.

3. the space, including the seat and instrumentation, surrounding the driver of an automobile.

4. a pit or enclosed place for cockfights.

5. a place where a contest is fought or which has been the scene of many contests or battles.

6. (formerly) a space below the water line in a warship, occupied by the quarters of the junior officers and used as a dressing station for those wounded in action.

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cockpit British  

/ ˈkɒkˌpɪt /

noun

1. the compartment in a small aircraft in which the pilot, crew, and sometimes the passengers sit Compare flight deck

2. the driver's compartment in a racing car

3. nautical

   1. an enclosed or recessed area towards the stern of a small vessel from which it is steered

   2. (formerly) an apartment in a warship used as quarters for junior officers and as a first-aid station during combat

4. the site of numerous battles or campaigns

5. an enclosure used for cockfights

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• cockpits
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of cockpit

First recorded in 1580–90; cock ¹ + pit ¹

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Explanation

The cockpit is the area where the pilots and crew sit to fly an airplane. In a small plane, the cockpit might be occupied by a single pilot. A cockpit, also called a flight deck, is like a ship's bridge or a truck's cab — it's where the person controlling the vehicle sits. A race car driver's seat is sometimes also called a cockpit. The original meaning was literally "pit where a cockfight happens," and in the 1700s cockpit became the Royal Navy's term for the area where a coxswain, or ship's pilot, was stationed.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

cockpit cockpits

Another pilot assigned to the return flight who was also on board "noticed the cockpit door opening and closing repeatedly in an unusual manner", according to the findings.

From Barron's ● Oct. 12, 2026

President George W. Bush later that month vowed to pursue fixes like fortifying cockpit doors and “technology to enable controllers to take over distressed aircraft and land it by remote control.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026

And some drivers find the cooling top uncomfortable in the tight confines of the cockpit.

From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026

He wrote that “somebody in that Delta cockpit lost spatial awareness near an object roughly the size of a condominium building with wings.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026

All the warning lights in the cockpit came on.

From "Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War" by Steve Sheinkin

These special editions, slim enough to slip into a pocket, went everywhere men were under arms, from cockpits to foxholes—even to prisoner-of-war camps in Europe and Asia.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026

The company’s site in Garden Grove, Calif., creates plane windows and clear enclosures that cover the cockpits of F-35 jet fighters.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 24, 2026

China is now considered by many as leading in areas like smart cockpits, battery technology and assisted driving systems.

From Barron's ● Apr. 27, 2026

In the cockpits, though, they are very different, as a consequence of the biggest regulation change in the sport's history.

From BBC ● Feb. 13, 2026

They scrambled into the cockpits, took off, and scattered in every direction in the air—turning the Po-2s into difficult targets.

From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein

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Related Words

• cabin
• compartment

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