NOUN (3)

1. compartment where the pilot sits while flying the aircraft;

2. a pit for cockfights;

3. seat where the driver sits while driving a racing car;

The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Cockpit \Cock"pit`\ (k[o^]k"p[i^]t), n.
   1. A pit, or inclosed area, for cockfights.
      [1913 Webster]

            Henry the Eighth had built . . . a cockpit.
                                                  --Macaulay.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. The Privy Council room at Westminster; -- so called
      because built on the site of the cockpit of Whitehall
      palace. --Brande & C.
      [1913 Webster]

   3. (Naut.)
      (a) That part of a war vessel appropriated to the wounded
          during an engagement.
      (b) In yachts and other small vessels, a space lower than
          the rest of the deck, which affords easy access to the
          cabin.
          [1913 Webster]

   4. In airplanes or boats, the space where the pilot or
      operator sits to control the vehicle. In airplanes it is
      usually in the front of the fuselage. In larger airplanes
      it may be closed off from the cabin, where the
      passengers travel.
      [PJC]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

cockpit
    n 1: compartment where the pilot sits while flying the aircraft
    2: a pit for cockfights
    3: seat where the driver sits while driving a racing car

Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:

58 Moby Thesaurus words for "cockpit":
   agora, amphitheater, arena, athletic field, auditorium, background,
   bear garden, bowl, boxing ring, bull ring, campus, canvas, circus,
   coliseum, colosseum, course, field, floor, forum, ground, gym,
   gymnasium, hall, hippodrome, lists, locale, marketplace, mat,
   milieu, open forum, palaestra, parade ground, pit, place, platform,
   precinct, prize ring, public square, purlieu, range, ring, scene,
   scene of action, scenery, setting, site, sphere, squared circle,
   stadium, stage, stage set, stage setting, terrain, theater,
   tilting ground, tiltyard, walk, wrestling ring