test pilot

American

noun

a pilot employed to test-fly newly-built aircraft.

test pilot British

noun

a pilot who flies aircraft of new design to test their performance in the air

"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 test pilot

First recorded in 1925–30

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.

Reid Wiseman, a 50-year-old former naval aviator and test pilot who was also a deputy chief of NASA's astronaut office, will be in command.

From Barron's • Apr. 1, 2026

He attended test pilot school at Edwards Air Force Base, the site of many daring Armstrong flights and space shuttle landings, then served with the Navy’s Dust Devil test pilot squadron in China Lake, Calif.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 30, 2026

Crew-12 marks the first spaceflight for mission specialist Sophie Adenot and pilot Jack Hathaway, both of whom have test pilot backgrounds.

From Science Daily • Feb. 2, 2026

Wandt, a former Swedish Air Force fighter pilot who was Saab’s chief test pilot, currently serves as the company’s chief innovation officer.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 24, 2025

My sister’s husband was a pilot also, but he was a test pilot.

From "Flying to the Moon: An Astronaut's Story" by Michael Collins

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