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The cowcatcher of a locomotive. [U.S.] Pilot balloon, a small balloon sent up in advance of a large one, to show the direction and force of the wind. -- Pilot bird. (Zoöl.) (a) A bird found near the Caribbee Islands; - - so called because its presence indicates to mariners their approach to these islands. Crabb. (b) T…

A small, unmanned balloon sent up to indicate the direction of air currents.

The flag hoisted at the fore by a vessel desiring a pilot, in the United States the union jack, in Great Britain the British union jack with a white border.

A small incandescent telltale lamp on a dynamo or battery circuit to show approximately by its brightness the voltage of the current.

A small hand-operated valve to admit liquid to operate a valve difficult to turn by hand.

A wheel, usually with radial handles projecting from the rim, for traversing the saddle of a machine tool, esp. an automatic machine tool, by hand.

The pilot's skill or knowledge, as of coasts, rocks, bars, and channels. [Obs.] Sir W. Raleigh.

Pilotage; skill in the duties of a pilot. [R.]

A pilot who has a branch or commission, as from Trinity House, England, for special navigation.

A handsomely banded, coral-reef fish, of Florida and the West Indies (Pomacentrus saxatilis); -- called also mojarra.

A person licensed as a pilot. [Slang]

The urubu, or American black vulture.

(Aëronautics) A small plane or surface capable of being manipulated by the pilot of a flying machine to preserve or destroy lateral balance; a hinged wing tip; a lateral stabilizing or balancing plane.

A man who ascends or flies in an aircraft; a flying machine pilot.

ense; in accordance with analogy; by way of similitude. A prince is analogically styled a pilot, being to the state as a pilot is to the vessel. Berkeley.

t the attention to; to fix the mind upon; to give heed to; to regard. [Obs.] The diligent pilot in a dangerous tempest doth not attend the unskillful words of the passenger. Sir P. Sidney.

rily defrayed by the master in the usual course of a voyage; such as port charges, common pilotage, and the like, which formerly were, and in some cases still are, borne partly by the ship and partly by the cargo. In the clause commonly found in bills of lading, "primage and average accustomed," average means a kind of…

, any vessel; usually with some epithet descriptive of its use or mode of propulsion; as, pilot boat, packet boat, passage boat, advice boat, etc. The term is sometimes applied to steam vessels, even of the largest class; as, the Cunard boats.

A warrant or commission given to a pilot, authorizing him to pilot vessels in certain waters. Branches of a bridle, two pieces of bent iron, which bear the bit, the cross chains, and the curb. -- Branch herring. See Alewife. -- Root and branch , totally, wholly.

Navigation along the coast; the details of coast pilotage.