From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishcockpitcock‧pit /ˈkɒkˌpɪt $ ˈkɑːk-/ noun [countable] 1 
TTWTTCthe area in a plane, small boat, or racing car where the pilot or driver sits2 DSOa small enclosed area where cock fights took place in the past
TTWTTCthe area in a plane, small boat, or racing car where the pilot or driver sits2 DSOa small enclosed area where cock fights took place in the pastExamples from the Corpus
cockpit• The two pilots sat side-by-side in an enclosed cockpit, with a gangway between the seats and full dual control provided.• Authorities have said the plane was overloaded and that Reid was apparently at the cockpit controls.• We spent an hour each day in the cockpit and three or four hours in the bleachers watching our classmates.• Not long before the race started, a fuel leak developed in the cockpit.• He shouted at the men in the cockpit to make fast the rope that led to his neck.• I was pinned in the cockpit in freezing temperatures for three days, unable to move.• Later that afternoon Joe came back to the cockpit, looking worried. 