cosmos
noun
the world or universe regarded as an orderly, harmonious system.
cosmos
American
[koz-mohs, -muhs]
/ ˈkɒz moʊs, -məs /
noun
-
cosmos,
plural
-
cosmoses
plural
-
the world or universe regarded as an orderly, harmonious system.
-
a complete, orderly, harmonious system.
-
order; harmony.
-
any composite plant of the genus Cosmos, of tropical America, some species of which, as C. bipannatus and C. sulphureus, are cultivated for their showy ray flowers.
-
(initial capital letter) Also Kosmos. one of a long series of Soviet satellites that have been launched into orbit around the earth.
Cosmos
1
British
/ ˈkɒzmɒs /
noun
cosmos
2
British
/ ˈkɒzmɒs /
noun
-
the world or universe considered as an ordered system
-
any ordered system
-
harmony; order
-
any tropical American plant of the genus Cosmos, cultivated as garden plants for their brightly coloured flowers: family Asteraceae (composites)
cosmos
Scientific
/ kŏz′məs,kŏz′mōs′ /
Usage
What is the cosmos flower? A cosmos is a flower with brightly colored, raylike petals. The name cosmos can be used for any plant in the genus Cosmos. The plural can be cosmos or cosmoses. Cosmoses are popular in gardens. Two of the best-known species are Cosmos bipannatus and Cosmos sulphureus (known as sulphur cosmos), both of which are cultivated for their flowers. Cosmos flowers vary widely in color. Varieties include yellow, orange, pink, and purple. In some varieties, the petals are notched at the tips. Cosmos are one of the October birth flowers (a flower that’s associated with a particular month in the same way as a birthstone). Example: The display at the botanical garden featured flashy orange cosmoses.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of cosmos
First recorded in 1150–1200; Middle English, from Greek kósmos “order, form, arrangement, the world or universe”
Explanation
The cosmos is the sum total of everything — pretty big. It's hard to wrap your mind around the cosmos, as it extends far beyond the Milky Way, or far-off galaxies, or even our own universe. Cosmos is originally a Greek word, meaning both "order" and "world," because the ancient Greeks thought that the world was perfectly harmonious and impeccably put in order. We now use cosmos without the idea of perfect order. Now it means, "all of creation," and particularly on the scale of the stars, the planets, the black holes, the other universes, and all the stuff we don't know about. It's also, totally separately, the name of a pretty, flowering Mexican herb.
Vocabulary lists containing cosmos
Elements of the Universe: Cosm, Cosmo ("Universe")
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Oh, My Stars! The Language of Outer Space
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Space Science (Astronomy) - Introductory
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Its unfurling will reveal an image of the cosmos overlain with blooming flowers and splintered prisms emanating rainbows.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026
Instead, the simulations indicate that Little Red Dots could arise naturally from the environment of the young cosmos, where black holes were able to grow at extraordinary rates.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 17, 2026
“Stranger Beauty” seems less a light in the cosmos than a model for padding out the page count.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026
“There is a deep connection with the cosmos in Mexico. I’ve seen it in anthropology books; this vision of art as a healing agent that facilitates spiritual growth.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 25, 2026
“I’m so glad that you’ll be making the journey with me. We can listen to Sun Ra some more to get used to being in outer space. We’ll practice being in the cosmos again soon.”
From "Boy21" by Matthew Quick
Space startups like the U.K. satellite manufacturer Open Cosmos and Spanish reusable-rocket maker PLD Space have also recently closed new funding rounds.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 20, 2026
He said the diamond lotus - called Cosmic Bloom and developed by Cosmos Diamonds - is an artist's tribute to space and celebrates India's creativity.
From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026
To conduct the analysis, researchers used Epic Cosmos, a database containing more than 300 million electronic health records from over 1,850 hospitals, including more than one-third of US transplant centers.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 1, 2026
The electric-vehicle company said at its investor day Thursday that its midsize platform will include two sport-utility vehicles called Cosmos and Earth, as well as a third consumer model that hasn’t yet been named publicly.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 12, 2026
But if the Cosmos is closed and light cannot escape from it, then it may be perfectly correct to describe the universe as a black hole.
From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan
In many ways, the physics of these budding cosmoses are like the baby universes Hawking and Guth hatch inside black holes.
From Time Magazine Archive
You evidently fancy that cosmoses are born to all the faculty they shall ever have, like ducks: no such thing.
From Notes of a Son and Brother by Henry James
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
