astronaut

American  

[as-truh-nawt, -not] / ˈæs trəˌnɔt, -ˌnɒt /

noun

1. a person engaged in or trained for spaceflight.

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astronaut British  

/ ˈæstrəˌnɔːt /

noun

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

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astronaut Cultural  

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

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Etymology

Origin of astronaut

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

Compare meaning

How does astronaut compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• cosmonaut vs. astronaut

Example Sentences

"I was involved in the launch preparation of the experiments that the astronauts put out on the lunar surface," he explains.

From BBC

America is about to do something great: send astronauts around the moon on a giant rocket that is taller than the Statue of Liberty External link.

From Barron's

NASA’s Artemis II mission is designed to power a crew of four astronauts out to the moon, zip them around it and safely bring them back to Earth.

From The Wall Street Journal

Glover is a 49-year-old veteran astronaut set to become the first Black person -- and first person of color -- to embark on a lunar voyage.

From Barron's

During this time the astronauts will conduct various checks to ensure the reliability and safety of the spacecraft -- it has never carried humans before -- before venturing further.

From Barron's

Related Words

• cosmonaut
• pilot