cockpit

American  

[kok-pit] / ˈkɒkˌpɪt /

noun

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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Etymology

Origin of cockpit

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

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

GKN Aerospace’s Garden Grove facility, which sits on 15.5 acres on Western Avenue, designs, analyzes, tests and certifies military canopies, cockpit windows and passenger widows, according to its website.

From Los Angeles Times • May 23, 2026

The GKN Aerospace plant in Garden Grove makes cockpit and passenger windows for Airbus and Boeing planes, according to the company’s website.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 23, 2026

“We’re kind of declaring ourselves to be the leaders in cockpit communications,” he said in an interview.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 14, 2026

Tested in Singapore in January, the system lets a copter crew launch a drone, control it from the cockpit and receive live footage to locate an area or a target without putting themselves at risk.

From Barron's • Apr. 3, 2026

I look over at the cockpit, grateful there are chairs for me and Javier, so I don’t have to stand while piloting the five of us to the surface.

From "The Last Cuentista" by Donna Barba Higuera

Related Words

• cabin
• compartment