pilot

Universal Words noun, verb, adjective noun 1 a person who operates the controls of an aircraft, especially as a job: an airline pilot * a fighter pilot * The accident was caused by pilot error. seealsoAUTOMATICPILOT, AUTOPILOT, CO-PILOT, TESTPILOT 2 a person with special knowledge of a difficult area of water, for example, a canal, the entrance to a harbour, etc., whose job is to guide ships through it 3 a single television programme that is made in order to find out whether people will like it and want to watch further programmes 4 = PILOTLIGHT verb [VN] 1 to fly an aircraft or guide a ship; to act as a pilot: The plane was piloted by the instructor. * The captain piloted the boat into a mooring. 2 ~ sth (through sth) to guide sb/sth somewhere, especially through a complicated place or system: She piloted a bill on the rights of part-time workers through parliament. 3 to test a new product, idea, etc. with a few people or in a small area before it is introduced everywhere adjective [onlybeforenoun] done on a small scale in order to see if sth is successful enough to do on a large scale: a pilot project / study / survey * a pilot episode (= of a radio or television series)