Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

cosmonaut

American  
[koz-muh-nawt, -not] / ˈkɒz məˌnɔt, -ˌnɒt /

noun

  1. a Russian or Soviet astronaut.


cosmonaut British  
/ ˈkɒzməˌnɔːt /

noun

  1. an astronaut, esp in the former Soviet Union

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

cosmonaut Cultural  
  1. A crew member of a space mission launched by the former Soviet Union.


Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of cosmonaut

1955–60; cosmo- + (aero)naut, representing Russian kosmonávt

Compare meaning

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

Vocabulary lists containing cosmonaut

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:

In March 1995 Valeri Polyakov, a Russian cosmonaut, returned to Earth after a record 14 consecutive months in space.

From The Wall Street Journal Feb. 19, 2026

This late uncertainty is just the most recent twist for the SpaceX Crew-12 mission, which includes Americans Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, French astronaut Sophie Adenot and Russian cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev.

From Barron's Feb. 5, 2026

Fedyaev will make history as the first cosmonaut to fly twice on Dragon.

From Science Daily Feb. 2, 2026

And in 1987, a heart arrhythmia caused Soviet cosmonaut Aleksandr Laveykin to leave the Mir space station early.

From BBC Jan. 14, 2026

At 12:30 PM Moscow time, the Vostok 6 was launched into orbit, and Lieutenant Valentina Tereshkova became the fifth cosmonaut in space.

From "Women in Space" by Karen Bush Gibson

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Dictionary.com's Learning Companion

Go beyond just looking up words.
Remember them forever with VocabTrainer.

Start training