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pilot plant

American

noun

an experimental industrial plant in which processes or techniques planned for use in full-scale operation are tested in advance.

pilot plant British

noun

a small-scale industrial plant in which problems can be identified and solved before the full-scale plant is built

"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

Etymology

Origin of pilot plant

First recorded in 1935–40

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Fervo has already built a small pilot plant in Nevada with 3.5 megawatts of capacity, or enough for a few thousand homes.

From Barron's • Jan. 23, 2026

Electra expects to open a new pilot plant in 2025.

From Science Magazine • Apr. 30, 2024

The project, which kicked off in 2022, is working on a pilot plant that's due to be operational in the first half of this year - though it's hit some difficulties.

From BBC • Mar. 11, 2024

It is based on modernizing blast furnace technology with moderate investments and has already been demonstrated successfully in a pilot plant.

From Science Daily • Dec. 21, 2023

There's nobody else around here to take it through the pilot plant.

From The Professional Approach by Schoenherr, John

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023