pilot
noun
a person duly qualified to steer ships into or out of a harbor or through certain difficult waters.
had been piloting
-
past perfect progressiveof pilot.past perfect progressive
Used to describe an action that was ongoing continuously in the past up until another past event interrupted it.
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.
Tajik Mohammad, 32, had been piloting an overcrowded dinghy across the English Channel in poor weather conditions on 17 January.
From BBC ● Apr. 21, 2026
On July 17, 2015, James Anderberg had been piloting a Spirit Airlines flight from Chicago to Minneapolis and back, with plans to then go to Boston.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 22, 2025
Rolf Lanzendorfer, 64, had been piloting commercial floatplanes for more than 40 years, largely in British Columbia, Chelan, Alaska and the Seattle area.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 8, 2021
A 22-year-old woman had been piloting the plane over Jamaica, Queens, with her instructor when a 60-foot Tom Cat floated into view “like a sea serpent out of its native element,” The Times reported.
From New York Times ● Nov. 22, 2017
Miss Elting turned to point out the man who had been piloting them along the platform.
From The Meadow-Brook Girls in the Hills The Missing Pilot of the White Mountains by Janet Aldridge
