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Glite Dictionary
aviator

aviator

37 4.6
A person who flies a plane or other aircraft
  • noun
  • /ˈeɪviˌeɪtər/
translation icon : piloto
  • Glenn Curtiss was acclaimed as the new great American aviator in Europe in 1909.
  • female aviator
  • wartime aviator

The scandal of having a now famous female aviator getting murdered?

Autoplay Next

Examples

  • The commission concluded that the aviator in question failed to execute a proper approach to the carrier.

    Fiction book (1997)

  • I thought you had plans to be an aviator.

    Mortal Engines (2018)

  • Your job is to tell your readers the critical facts about this famous aviator.

    Academic text (2009)

  • You're an American aviator in France?

    Devotion (2022)

  • Looks like a fine group of aviators, sir.

    Fire Birds (1990)

  • The Navy calls them aviators.

    The Right Stuff (1983)

  • The German engineer Otto Lilienthal, with his birdlike hang glider, was the first aviator to be photographed.

    Academic text (2003)

  • Many young people dream of becoming an aviator after watching the latest flight simulator game.

  • The aviator skillfully maneuvered the aircraft through the turbulent skies during the storm.

  • As an experienced aviator, she had flown missions in various parts of the world.

Synonyms

pilot
vsaviator
∞ 2.9

A person who flies a plane or guides a ship safely

is limited to aircraft and excludes guidance of ships
flier
vsaviator
  • US
19 4.2

A person who flies an aircraft as its pilot

is the same meaning but used as a more formal or technical term
airplane pilot
vsaviator
  • US
1 3.2

A person who flies a plane and has a licence

is broader and does not require formal licensing

How Experienced

ace
65 4.5
test pilot
  • Specialized
12 6.0
captain
611 1.1
aviator
37 4.6
airplane pilot
  • US
1 3.2

Surface Forms

aviator singular
aviators plural

Morphology

aviator = aviate (semi-transparent) = aviate + or

Regular agentive derivation (verb + -or), but the verb 'aviate' is relatively low-frequency and Latin-derived, so the relation may not be immediately obvious to a B1 learner.

Etymology

Aviator comes from the Latin root avi- (from avis) meaning 'bird', so the idea is of a pilot like a 'bird' who flies. You can also see the same root in aviation, and the -ator part means 'one who does', which is why an aviator is a person who flies a plane.