cockpit

noun

cock·​pit ˈkäk-ˌpit 

1

a

: a pit or enclosure for cockfights

b

: a place noted for especially bloody, violent, or long-continued conflict

2

obsolete : the pit of a theater

3

: a compartment in a sailing warship used as quarters for junior officers and for treatment of the wounded in an engagement

4

: a space or compartment in a usually small vehicle (such as a boat, airplane, or automobile) from which it is steered, piloted, or driven see airplane illustration

Examples of cockpit in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The fourth plane was headed for Washington, officials concluded, but the aircraft went down in Pennsylvania after passengers and crew members stormed the cockpit and fought the hijackers. — Arkansas Online, 12 Sep. 2026

Passengers attempted to storm the cockpit, and the jet crashed into a field in rural Pennsylvania. — Michael Silver, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026

Flight attendants and passengers on United 93 organized, voted and charged the cockpit knowing the odds. — Doug Ross, Chicago Tribune, 11 Sep. 2026

In the following years, airlines met requirements to reinforce cockpit doors to prevent intrusion. — Miles J. Herszenhorn, USA Today, 11 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1556, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing cockpit

• cockpit voice recorder

Rhymes for cockpit

• acquit
• admit
• armpit
• backlit
• befit
• commit
• dalit
• dendrite
• emit
• illite
• misfit
• moonlit

Kids Definition

cockpit

noun

cock·​pit ˈkäk-ˌpit 

: a space or compartment in a usually small vehicle (as a boat, airplane, or automobile) from which it is steered, piloted, or driven