cockpit

/ˌkɑkˈpɪt/

/ˈkɒkpɪt/

Other forms: cockpits

The cockpit is the area where the pilots and crew sit to fly an airplane. In a small plane, the cockpit might be occupied by a single pilot.

A cockpit, also called a flight deck, is like a ship's bridge or a truck's cab — it's where the person controlling the vehicle sits. A race car driver's seat is sometimes also called a cockpit. The original meaning was literally "pit where a cockfight happens," and in the 1700s cockpit became the Royal Navy's term for the area where a coxswain, or ship's pilot, was stationed.

Definitions of cockpit

1. noun

   compartment where the pilot sits while flying the aircraft
   type of:

   compartment

   a partitioned section, chamber, or separate room within a larger enclosed area
2. noun

   seat where the driver sits while driving a racing car
   type of:

   seat

   any support where you can sit (especially the part of a chair or bench etc. on which you sit)
3. noun

   a pit for cockfights
   type of:

   pit

   an enclosure in which animals are made to fight