[cock.pit] n (1587) 1 a: a pit or enclosure for cockfights b: a place noted for esp. bloody, violent, or long-continued conflict
2. obs: the pit of a theater
3: a compartment in a sailing warship used as quarters for junior officers and for treatment of the wounded in an engagement
4: a space or compartment in a usu. small vehicle (as a boat, airplane, or automobile) from which it is steered, piloted, or driven--see airplane illustration