copilot

American  

[koh-pahy-luht] / ˈkoʊˌpaɪ lət /

noun

• copilots
  plural

1. a pilot who is second in command of an aircraft.

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copilot British  

/ ˈkəʊˌpaɪlət /

noun

1. a second or relief pilot of an aircraft

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• copilots
  plural

Etymology

Origin of copilot

First recorded in 1925–30; co- + pilot

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

copilot copilots

Last month a small plane crashed into the side of a building in the southeastern city of Belo Horizonte, killing the pilot and copilot.

From Barron's ● Jun. 14, 2026

Autopilot is an evolution of Luminance's copilot tool, which colour-codes clauses for legal professionals as they review a contract in Word.

From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2023

Sullivan and his copilot were detained when they landed in the country.

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 4, 2023

He served in Afghanistan as an Apache helicopter copilot gunner in 2012-2013.

From Washington Times ● Sep. 9, 2023

Polina Osipenko, who’d flown with Marina earlier that summer, was going to be Valentina’s copilot; Marina would be their navigator.

From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein

“Fictitious friends and mannequin copilots won’t cut it,” said CHP officials.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 17, 2026

The project will create AI copilots to assist staff at customer companies as they design new products, and organise production and maintenance.

From Reuters ● Oct. 31, 2023

Alphabet declined to comment on agent-related work, while Microsoft said its vision is to keep humans in control of AI copilots, rather than autopilots.

From Reuters ● Jul. 17, 2023

We're like copilots, there is no captain, and what we're saying, with greater or lesser degrees of urgency is: "Look out! Pull up!"

From New York Times ● Jan. 12, 2018

He went on: “One thing I personally try to do is, I try to put myself a little down. I say to my copilots, ‘I don’t fly very often.

From "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell