pilothouse

[ pahy-luht-hous ]

noun,plural pi·lot·hous·es [pahy-luht-hou-ziz]. /ˈpaɪ lətˌhaʊ zɪz/. Nautical.
  1. an enclosed structure on the deck of a ship from which it can be navigated.

Origin of pilothouse

1
An Americanism dating back to 1840–50; pilot + house

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use pilothouse in a sentence

  • The same shot knocked an iron plate from the top of the pilot-house and let in the daylight in a flood.

  • "The shock threw him against the pilot-house wall and fractured his skull—he died in an hour," he said.

    The Sargasso of Space | Edmond Hamilton
  • On the sides, on the turret, and on the pilot-house were indentations like saucers, but there was no sign of serious damage.

    The Boys of '61 | Charles Carleton Coffin.
  • He heard something hum past his head and plunk into the pilot house behind him.

    Shaman | Robert Shea
  • "Watch for that steamer's red light off to starboard," warned a business-like voice from the blackness of the pilot-house.

British Dictionary definitions for pilot house

pilot house

noun
  1. nautical an enclosed structure on the bridge of a vessel from which it can be navigated; wheelhouse

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012