astronaut

[ as-truh-nawt, -not ]

noun

1. a person engaged in or trained for spaceflight.

astronaut

/ ˈæstrəˌnɔːt /

noun

1. See cosmonaut
   a person trained for travelling in space See also cosmonaut

astronaut

1. A crew member of a space mission launched by the United States. ( See Apollo program and Mercury program .)

Word History and Origins

Origin of astronaut¹

1925–30; astro- + (aero)naut, probably via French astronaute; astronautical

Word History and Origins

Origin of astronaut¹

C20: from astro- + -naut from Greek nautēs sailor, on the model of aeronaut

Example Sentences

Later on, astronauts looked at the pellets after one, two and three years.

From Popular-Science

Being an astronaut is the ultimate idea of looking into what surrounds us by going there.

From Quanta Magazine

Though we may say that astronauts are weightless in space, what they’re actually experiencing is microgravity.

From Science News For Students

About 30 nonphysicians learned first aid from a software system designed to help astronauts.

From Science News

Other simulated Mars missions suggest that astronauts isolated together could develop an us-versus-them mentality that would lead the crew to stop listening to mission control, which could be dangerous on a long mission.

From Science News

On the second planet, they encounter a marooned astronaut named Dr. Mann, and a fistfight ensues.

From The Daily Beast

Her long-term boyfriend Dave Clark is head of ‘astronaut relations’ for Virgin Galactic.

From The Daily Beast

I asked a former NASA astronaut, who cannot be quoted on the record, to look at photographs of the debris.

From The Daily Beast

“The astronaut phenomenon is destroying the Iraqi army,” one officer, Kadhim al-Shammari, told us.

From The Daily Beast

BAGHDAD, Iraq — The Iraqi army is suffering badly from what locals describe as the “astronaut phenomenon.”

From The Daily Beast

Of course, ground control was to be used only if the astronaut failed to ignite the retro-rockets himself.

From Project Gutenberg

The astronaut fell victim to a psychological stress that was unforeseen.

From Project Gutenberg

The parachute opened and the daring astronaut drifted towards the sea.

From Project Gutenberg

It would not surprise me to find that most of those languages have survived and that our distressed astronaut knows them all.

From Project Gutenberg

It would not surprise me to find that most of these languages have survived and that our distressed astronaut knows them all.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• cosmonaut
• pilot