1a person who operates the flying controls of an aircraft:a strike by local airline pilots [as modifier]:the crash had been due to pilot error
a person with expert local knowledge qualified to take charge of a ship entering or leaving a harbour.
a navigational handbook for use at sea.
informal a jockey:many expected him to get the job as Desert Orchid’s pilot
archaic a guide or leader.
2a television or radio programme made to test audience reaction with a view to the production of a series:he returns to our TV screens in a pilot for a Channel 4 sitcom
[as modifier] done as an experiment or test before being introduced more widely:a pilot scheme for training workers
[often as modifier] Telecommunications an unmodulated reference signal transmitted with another signal for the purposes of control or synchronization.
