autopilot
noun
au·to·pi·lot
ˈȯ-tō-ˌpī-lət 
1
: a device for automatically steering ships, aircraft, and spacecraft
also
: the automatic control provided by such a device
Examples of autopilot in a Sentence
an airplane equipped with an autopilot
The plane was flying on autopilot.
Recent Examples on the Web
The pilot obliges — and then the co-pilot flips off the autopilot function.
—
Michael Schneider, Variety, 10 Sep. 2025
Where appropriate, autopilot ensures critical operations continue, even during off-hours or high-volume events, without burning out engineers or sacrificing uptime.
—Ronak Desai, Forbes.com, 9 Sep. 2025
The pilots agreed, took the plane off autopilot, and a very drunk Sheen was able to fly and steer the A330 somewhere over the Atlantic with 200 other passengers onboard.
—Oren Peleg, HollywoodReporter, 9 Sep. 2025
The violent up and down cycles were strong enough to disengage the plane’s autopilot system and cause minor damage to the plane’s interior as everything that wasn’t strapped down went flying.
—Alexandra Skores, CNN Money, 9 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for autopilot
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Michael Schneider, Variety, 10 Sep. 2025
Where appropriate, autopilot ensures critical operations continue, even during off-hours or high-volume events, without burning out engineers or sacrificing uptime.
—Ronak Desai, Forbes.com, 9 Sep. 2025
The pilots agreed, took the plane off autopilot, and a very drunk Sheen was able to fly and steer the A330 somewhere over the Atlantic with 200 other passengers onboard.
—Oren Peleg, HollywoodReporter, 9 Sep. 2025
The violent up and down cycles were strong enough to disengage the plane’s autopilot system and cause minor damage to the plane’s interior as everything that wasn’t strapped down went flying.
—Alexandra Skores, CNN Money, 9 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for autopilot
Cite this Entry
“Autopilot.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/autopilot. Accessed 12 Sep. 2025.
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