test pilot

American  

noun

1. a pilot employed to test-fly newly-built aircraft.

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test pilot British  

noun

1. a pilot who flies aircraft of new design to test their performance in the air

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Etymology

Origin of test pilot

First recorded in 1925–30

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

test pilot

The agencies told him that Rush not only wasn’t an elite military test pilot, as he had claimed to the CIA, but he also held no pilot credentials at all.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 16, 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

Glover particularly misses those test pilot days, when he was pushing the limits of the F/A-18 Hornet and Super Hornet in China Lake while completing a master’s degree on the side.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 20, 2026

Reid Wiseman, a 50-year-old former naval aviator and test pilot who was also a deputy chief of NASA's astronaut office, will be in command.

From Barron's ● Apr. 1, 2026

Ten women made it past the application process—five physicians, three engineers, a scientist, and a test pilot with an engineering degree.

From "Women in Space" by Karen Bush Gibson