fighter pilot

American  

[fahy-ter pahy-luht] / ˈfaɪ tər ˌpaɪ lət /

noun

Military.

1. a pilot trained to fly aircraft classified as fighters and to engage in aerial combat.

   The last surviving member of this celebrated squadron of fighter pilots has died, at age 92.

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Etymology

Origin of fighter pilot

First recorded in 1935–40

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

fighter pilot

Marc Sasseville, the fighter pilot who had prepared to sacrifice his life that morning, has described America’s vulnerability on Sept. 11 as a “failure of imagination.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026

Air Force colonel with more than 27 years of experience as an instructor pilot, fighter pilot, and test pilot.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 11, 2026

Did he share a fake video of himself as a fighter pilot dumping human waste on No Kings protesters?

From Salon ● May 24, 2026

Tom Vo was born in Vietnam, served as a fighter pilot for the Army of the Republic of Vietnam and moved to Southern California as a refugee after the Vietnam War.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 1, 2026

Lilya Litvyak’s greatest fear as a fighter pilot was that her Yak would be shot down over enemy territory and that she’d die there, or that her body wouldn’t be found.

From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein

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