piloted

verb

Definition of pilotednext
past tense of pilot
1
as in guided
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

Relevance
2
as in steered
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
3
as in navigated
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 piloted The second helicopter was piloted by Charles Marsillac, who was the sole person on board. — Luke Chinman, PEOPLE, 15 June 2026 One of the increasingly concerning threats is drones, which can be piloted remotely and are difficult to disable. — Christopher Cann, USA Today, 24 June 2026 Guéhennec says that every major AI use case is initially piloted at around five to ten sites in a couple of the 43 countries that Sodexo serves. — John Kell, Fortune, 1 July 2026 Just witness the number of e-motos like the Surron Bee models in your neighborhood, typically piloted by riders far below the legal age to drive. — William Roberson, Forbes.com, 1 July 2026 The crash was not an accident, Adams said, because Pino violated several navigational rules — and piloted the boat without thinking about the well-being of his wife, daughter and the 11 girls on the boat. — Grethel Aguila, Miami Herald, 22 June 2026 Between late 2025 and June 2026, Less piloted the X-59 during 10 flights while Larson took the controls for nine flights. — Jeremy Hsu, ArsTechnica, 29 June 2026 Not after joining Sean Payton’s staff in 2023 as the quarterbacks coach and helping turn the Broncos, piloted by young quarterback Bo Nix, into title contenders. — Nick Kosmider, New York Times, 12 June 2026 Scientists who recently piloted a submersible to a remote spot in the southeastern Indian Ocean have identified one of the largest and deepest whale graveyards containing hundreds of fossils, including one representing a previously unknown species. — Mindy Weisberger, CNN Money, 12 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for piloted
  1. guided
  2. steered
  3. coached
  4. conducted
  5. accompanied
  6. led
  7. showed
Verb
  • Whether the future is guided by a more centralized federal framework or a complex matrix of state-level consumer protections, the race to a multi-billion-dollar digital overhaul is already well underway.
    — Arthur Zaczkiewicz, Footwear News, 2 July 2026
  • Successful catalog design must be guided by response rates, sales results, and margins.
    — Sharon Daniels, Forbes.com, 2 July 2026
Definition of guided
Verb
  • This spring, Russert received a call from leadership at MS NOW, steered by former CNN executive Rebecca Kutler.
    — Jay Stahl, USA Today, 1 July 2026
  • Besides free agency opening on Tuesday, the timing does add up for Leonard’s trade, as Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank has steered the franchise through a refreshing youth movement over the past year.
    — Joaquin Ruiz, Los Angeles Times, 30 June 2026
Definition of steered
Verb
  • Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is coached by 54-year-old Sergej Barbarez, has a strong back line with Tarik Muharemović, Sead Kolašinac, and Nikola Katić of FC Schalke 04.
    — Michelle Kaufman, Miami Herald, 30 June 2026
  • On display are the game's original 1891 rules, written by James Naismith, who coached the first-ever Kansas team.
    — Chris Dong, Travel + Leisure, 30 June 2026
Definition of coached
Verb
  • The project also included heavy-ion radiation testing conducted by NASA to evaluate the platform’s resilience for orbital and lunar missions.
    — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 30 June 2026
  • The commander of the NC13 strike UGV company in the 3rd Assault Brigade told the Ukrainian outlet Militarnyi in December that his unit has already conducted offensive operations using multiple armed robots simultaneously.
    — David Kirichenko, Forbes.com, 30 June 2026
Definition of conducted
Verb
  • The Munizes included the same statement in a new post that instead was accompanied by a photo of the family of three.
    — Brendan Morrow, USA Today, 2 July 2026
  • The byproduct was irritated, itchy skin with the discomfort of scratches, scabs and the stink that accompanied it.
    — Katherine Ott, The Conversation, 2 July 2026
Definition of accompanied
Verb
  • Wednesday's ceremony came 38 years to the day after Lefebvre was excommunicated alongside those four bishops — including Bishop Alfonso de Galarreta, who led Wednesday's consecrations and was again excommunicated Thursday.
    — Noah LaBelle, NPR, 2 July 2026
  • Children affected by the war are also attending summer camps such as those led by OneFamily, an organization that supports victims of terrorism and war and their families.
    — Amelie Botbol, FOXNews.com, 2 July 2026
Definition of led
Verb
  • As he was wheeled away to a waiting ambulance, Gil wore an oxygen mask and neck brace, and his face showed bruising.
    — Mery Mogollón, Los Angeles Times, 5 July 2026
  • Khamenei’s son and successor Mojtaba Khamenei has yet to appear, as video showed three of Ali Khamenei’s other children at the ceremony.
    — Billy Stockwell, CNN Money, 5 July 2026
Definition of showed

Browse Nearby Words

pilot
piloted
piloting
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Piloted.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/piloted. Accessed 8 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on piloted

Nglish: Translation of piloted for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of gambol

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All