ˈ ̷ ̷ˌ ̷ ̷ noun
Etymology: cock (I) + pit
1.
a. : a pit or enclosure for cockfights
b. : any place noted for especially bloody, violent, or long-continued conflict
Italy … was wearied by the long years when she had been the cockpit of war — John Buchan
its capital city … is a cockpit of East-West intrigue — W.M.Healy
2. obsolete : the pit of a theater
3.
a. : an apartment of an old sailing warship usually on the after part of the orlop deck below the waterline used as quarters for junior officers and for treatment of the wounded in an engagement
b. : an open space aft of a decked area from which a yacht or other small vessel is steered
c. : a space in the fuselage of an airplane for the seating of the pilot or the pilot and passengers or in large passenger planes the pilot and crew
d. : any space (as in a sports car) resembling such a place in an airplane
a racing driver hunched over in the cockpit of his car