test pilot

noun

: a pilot who specializes in putting new or experimental airplanes through maneuvers designed to test them (as for strength) by producing strains in excess of normal

Examples of test pilot in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Joe Acaba, leader of NASA’s astronaut office, further emphasized that the pair are test pilots who willingly and intentionally take on risk. —

Michael Sheetz, CNBC, 14 Aug. 2024 Wilmore and Williams, both US Navy test pilots, will oversee Starliner's systems from launch through docking at the International Space Station. —

Stephen Clark, Ars Technica, 14 May 2024 July 12, 2024 at 6:55 p.m. EDT Listen 7 min Share Comment Save Joe Engle, the last surviving member of the test pilots who skimmed the edge of space on the X-15 rocket plane in the 1960s and who later orbited the Earth on space-shuttle missions, died July 10 at his home in Houston. —

Brian Murphy, Washington Post, 12 July 2024 But in the early days of the space race, the right stuff also seemingly included being white, male and a military test pilot. —

Briley Lewis, Scientific American, 24 June 2024 See all Example Sentences for test pilot

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'test pilot.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.