combat pilot
2
6.0
- noun
- /ˈkɒmbæt ˈpaɪlət/
:
piloto de combate
- As a combat pilot, she flew many missions over hostile territories to protect her country.
- a former combat pilot
- Marine combat pilot
- Navy combat pilot
Examples
-
McSally, 46, a retired Air Force colonel and combat pilot, emerged on election night with a lead that put her thousands of votes ahead.
Blog text (31) -
One combat pilot even bails on the op to bring down the home tree.
Blog text (25) -
I'm a combat pilot, Will.
-
I'm not a combat pilot.
Fiction book (1997) -
"We came so close," said McSally, a former Air Force combat pilot who had been stationed at Davis-Monthan between deployments.
Blog text (18) -
He was a Navy pilot who flew 78 missions in Korea and was an experienced combat pilot.
Blog text (17) -
"We did a search and found his name on an official Air Force page that confirmed he was a combat pilot, but that page had nothing to do with UFOs," Huneeus, editor of Open Minds Magazine, told HuffPost.
Blog text (21) -
He helped train Williams, a Marine reservist who served alongside him as a combat pilot in Korea, and said they remained friends until Williams's death in 2002.
Blog text (17) -
"Now I think we can change the subject." Like Richard Wilton, Robert Burwell had served in World War I in the AEF, Wilton in the artillery, Burwell as a combat pilot.
Fiction book (2002) -
With his background as a combat pilot... aeronautical designer, engineer, manufacturer... and military strategist... Major Seversky's advanced viewpoint and opinions... are of vital importance to every citizen.
Synonyms
∞
2.9
A person who flies a plane or guides a ship safely
37
4.6
A person who flies a plane or other aircraft
29
4.0
A person who flies military combat planes
9
7.5
A young man who flies planes, often in the military and does daring stunts
8
5.6
A pilot who flies behind the leader in formation to protect them
1
8.5
A pilot who fights other planes at close range
1
3.2
A person who flies a plane and has a licence
A pilot who flies low and shoots at people or vehicles on the ground
How Operational
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a pilot who engages in combat' is directly and compositionally derived from 'combat' (armed engagement) + 'pilot' (person operating an aircraft). This noun+noun construction is transparent and cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily infer the MWE meaning.
Etymology
Combat pilot comes from the words combat (fight) and pilot (a person who flies a plane). Picture a pilot flying into a battle to fight enemy planes or targets, so the term means 'a military pilot who fights in the air'.