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copilot

American  
[koh-pahy-luht] / ˈkoʊˌpaɪ lət /

noun

  • copilots
    plural
  1. a pilot who is second in command of an aircraft.


copilot British  
/ ˈkəʊˌpaɪlət /

noun

  1. a second or relief pilot of an aircraft

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms


Etymology

Origin of copilot

First recorded in 1925–30; co- + pilot


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

Last month a small plane crashed into the side of a building in the southeastern city of Belo Horizonte, killing the pilot and copilot.

From Barron's ● Jun. 14, 2026

Autopilot is an evolution of Luminance's copilot tool, which colour-codes clauses for legal professionals as they review a contract in Word.

From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2023

The pilot and copilot were taken back to the training center on another helicopter.

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 30, 2023

He served in Afghanistan as an Apache helicopter copilot gunner in 2012-2013.

From Washington Times ● Sep. 9, 2023

The cockpit was oppressively cramped, forcing pilot and copilot to live cheek by jowl for missions as long as sixteen hours.

From "Unbroken" by Laura Hillenbrand

“Fictitious friends and mannequin copilots won’t cut it,” said CHP officials.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 17, 2026

Microsoft has invested billions of dollars in OpenAI and staked its future on the startup, releasing what it called AI copilots to business customers based on OpenAI's technology.

From Reuters ● Nov. 20, 2023

The project will create AI copilots to assist staff at customer companies as they design new products, and organise production and maintenance.

From Reuters ● Oct. 31, 2023

We're like copilots, there is no captain, and what we're saying, with greater or lesser degrees of urgency is: "Look out! Pull up!"

From New York Times ● Jan. 12, 2018

He went on: “One thing I personally try to do is, I try to put myself a little down. I say to my copilots, ‘I don’t fly very often.

From "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell

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