PILOTS Synonyms: 73 Similar and Opposite Words

pilots 1 of 2

noun

plural of pilot

as in aviators

one who flies or is qualified to fly an aircraft or spacecraft the airline is seeking experienced pilots to fly the new airplane

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

pilots

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of pilot

as in guides

to give advice and instruction to (someone) regarding the course or process to be followed piloted the figure skater through the national championships

Synonyms & Similar Words

as in steers

to point out the way for (someone) especially from a position in front the lead rider piloted the rest of the team

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in navigates

to operate or control the course of managed to pilot the plane to safety despite the failure of the left engine

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of pilots

Noun

Seats designed for impact ANH Structure will design, develop, certify and manufacture a common seating platform for Valo’s pilots, observers and passengers. — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 17 Oct. 2026 The capacity of remote pilots to steer mid- and long-range drones varies. — Gerard Toal, The Conversation, 16 Oct. 2026 According to air traffic control audio, the pilots informed air traffic controllers ahead of landing that one person had a bloody nose and another person had bite marks and requested that medical personnel be waiting at the gate. — ABC News, 16 Oct. 2026 But the opportunity will not be won by putting more robots into pilots. — Navin Chaddha, Fortune, 16 Oct. 2026 Two other pilots who happened to be traveling on the flight then took over and were able to safely land the plane at the airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. — Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 15 Oct. 2026 One is that with the noise in the tank, the crew will have to use the sort of personal helmet microphones as used by helicopter pilots. — New Atlas, 15 Oct. 2026 Badly injured, Captain Machchhar somehow opened the cockpit door, allowing passengers to overpower al-Hammami, and two off-duty pilots to take control of the plane and land it in Saudi Arabia. — The Week Uk, TheWeek, 10 Oct. 2026 The controllers’ union backs the request, and so do the airlines and the pilots. — Vincent E. Bianco Iii, Washington Post, 9 Oct. 2026

Verb

Heath pilots a fighter jet, deploys bombs in foreign countries, and thwarts cyberattacks, all after remarkably cursory and casual conversations with a government official. — Becca Rothfeld, New Yorker, 29 Aug. 2026 Manuel Varela, who also pilots Goodie, says the drone has switchable nozzles for whatever the cleaning job calls for. — Delia Rose Sauer, Miami Herald, 15 July 2026 There's also an optional co-op mode, which allows two players to split the controls of the Arwing starfighter and other vehicles; one person pilots them while the other shoots at enemies. — Fran Ruiz, Space.com, 8 May 2026 Benji gives in to whatever Jake wants, desperate not to rock the boat, while Jake frequently pilots their relationship, taking control without giving much thought to Benji and his desires. — David Opie, IndieWire, 4 May 2026 The drones are always recording and equipped with high-quality zoom and thermal cameras as a Cincinnati police officer remotely pilots the drone from the department's command center. — David Ferrara, Cincinnati Enquirer, 11 Dec. 2025 When Claire’s adult daughter Channing pilots the idea of going on a ski trip next year and starting her own holiday traditions, Claire completely ices her out and won’t consider it. — Helen Carefoot, Flow Space, 9 Dec. 2025 Maito then pilots one of these robots, called Gaine, and teams up with other mecha to take down the real evil Nouvelle Tokyo City. — Ollie Barder, Forbes.com, 17 Sep. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for pilots

Noun

As Earth faces an overwhelming alien threat, these young aviators are thrown into relentless combat that tests their loyalty, courage and faith in one another.

— Leo Barraclough, Variety, 9 Oct. 2026
Two years later Norwegian polar explorer and zoologist Fritjof Nansen wore Burberry gabardine on his expedition to cross the Arctic Ocean, and the fabric became popular among other polar explorers and aviators who wore it on their missions.

— Frannie Comstock, Encyclopedia Britannica, 7 Oct. 2026

Definition of aviators

Verb

The Black Parade, a marching band, guides him into the afterlife.

— Lina Abascal, Los Angeles Times, 14 Oct. 2026
Our capital improvement plan guides us with the infrastructure for traffic improvements, drainage/stormwater maintenance and other facilities to be maintained within the town.

— Susan Starkey, Sun Sentinel, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of guides

Verb

Camden generally steers private clients away from designing for stays longer than 30 days, though some have asked his firm to plan for a year or more.

— Megan Buerger, Washington Post, 9 Oct. 2026
But since these girls don’t have anything that looks like conventional adulthood waiting for them, the film wisely steers them away from maturity and toward a kind of spiritual liberation.

— Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 9 Oct. 2026

Definition of steers

Verb

Enricia Thornton, known to her students as Coach Ricci, founded East Atlanta Elite Cheerleading and coaches 30 girls.

— Leondra Head, CBS News, 12 Oct. 2026
And then there’s famous actress Nance O’Neil (Jessica Barden), who coaches Lizzie on how to conduct herself in the courtroom.

— Randall Colburn, Entertainment Weekly, 24 Sep. 2026

Definition of coaches

Verb

The mill is mated to an eight-speed ZF automatic gearbox which routes power to all four wheels, of course.

— Bryan Hood, Robb Report, 14 Oct. 2026
The grid constantly senses where demand is rising and routes power to meet it, drawing on every point in the network to decide or predict where energy should go to optimize supply, cost efficiency and customer delivery.

— Thomas Zawacki, Forbes.com, 23 Sep. 2026

Definition of routes

Verb

As this chart shows, AI capex spending has juiced the net earnings of S&P 500 companies.

— Jim Edwards, Fortune, 20 Oct. 2026
But experimental progress over the past few decades shows that Schrödinger’s equation is not valid only for minuscule particles.

— Philipp Strasberg, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2026

Definition of shows

Browse Nearby Words

piloting

pilots

pilule

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Pilots.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pilots. Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of pilots

noun

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

jilt

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Can' vs. 'May'

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

Popular in Wordplay

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Did 'orange' the fruit or the color come first?

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Popular

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Games & Quizzes