pilot study

British

noun

a small-scale experiment or set of observations undertaken to decide how and whether to launch a full-scale project

"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

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.

In a recent pilot study, Williams examined tissue and cell samples taken before and after treatment from 50 people with Hodgkin lymphoma and compared them with samples from 50 healthy individuals.

From Science Daily

"Our pilot study provides important evidence that microplastic exposure may be a risk factor for prostate cancer," said study lead author Stacy Loeb, MD, a professor in the NYU Grossman School of Medicine's Departments of Urology and Population Health.

From Science Daily

This project marks the first pilot study to explore family connections among Scandinavian Neolithic hunter-gatherers using archaeogenetic methods.

From Science Daily

Moorfields hospital in London is the world's first dedicated clinic for the disorder and seven out of eight patients given the pioneering treatment have responded to the therapy, a pilot study shows.

From BBC

She was part of a two-person pilot study on the new therapeutic approach published in 2022.

From Slate

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023