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

“Someone should tell her personal copilot that His landings suck,” Miss Michigan muttered.

From "Beauty Queens" by Libba Bray

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

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 17, 2026

Microsoft has invested billions of dollars in OpenAI and staked its future on the startup, releasing what it called AI copilots to business customers based on OpenAI's technology.

From Reuters ● Nov. 20, 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

For example, many airlines teach a standardized procedure for copilots to challenge the pilot if he or she thinks something has gone terribly awry.

From "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell