spaceship

American  

[speys-ship] / ˈspeɪsˌʃɪp /

noun

1. spacecraft.

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spaceship British  

/ ˈspeɪsˌʃɪp /

noun

1. a manned spacecraft

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Etymology

Origin of spaceship

First recorded in 1940–45; space + ship ¹

Explanation

A vehicle that travels outside the earth's atmosphere is a spaceship. If you want to walk around on the moon some day, you'll have to get there in a spaceship. Any craft that carries people or equipment through space is a spaceship, though you could also call it a "rocket ship." Traveling through the universe, far from Earth or just outside its atmosphere, definitely requires a spaceship. Spaceship was originally borrowed from 19th- and 20th-century science fiction, and even today the term is considered less scientific than spacecraft or space vehicle.

Example Sentences

The spaceship will actually swing around the Moon without entering its orbit by following a carefully planned trajectory.

From Barron's • Apr. 5, 2026

The night sky, the bands' spaceship, all of it was graphics.

From BBC • Mar. 30, 2026

"However, I expect when China realises manned lunar landing by 2030 with the new spaceship and lunar landing vehicle, it will catch up with the US in the human spaceflight field."

From Barron's • Mar. 26, 2026

Here, guests will first build their own spaceship, and then have it scanned into the game for a cooperative shoot-’em-up.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 6, 2026

Since the Wright Brothers’ 1915 Flyer, airplanes had evolved from pelican-like awkwardness to sleek machines with the silhouette of a falcon; why wouldn’t a spaceship continue along that same path?

From "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly

Related Words

• booster
• firework
• intercontinental ballistic missile
• missile
• spacecraft
• torpedo
• weapon