seat-of-the-pants

American  

[seet-uhv-thuh-pants] / ˈsit əv ðəˈpænts /

adjective

1. using or based on experience, instinct, or guesswork.

   a seat-of-the-pants management style.

2. done without the aid of instruments.

   The pilot made a seat-of-the-pants landing.

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Etymology

Origin of seat-of-the-pants

First recorded in 1940–45

Example Sentences

So is defeatism, as well as seat-of-the-pants policymaking.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 31, 2026

Bruckheimer remembers the shoot as tough but exhilarating, a product of Scott’s notoriously seat-of-the-pants directing style.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 25, 2025

Then, since they don’t use any actual method or research for those judgments, it’s entirely their seat-of-the-pants opinion about what Americans would do.

From Slate • Nov. 5, 2024

Today, there are fewer pilots moving up the ranks by flying aircraft that require seat-of-the-pants skills.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 12, 2020

But, she said, “they were seat-of-the-pants in terms of implementing science.”

From Washington Post