Synonyms

sputnik

American

[spoot-nik, spuht-, spoot-nyik] / ˈspʊt nɪk, ˈspʌt-, ˈsput nyɪk /

noun

(sometimes initial capital letter) any of a series of Soviet earth-orbiting satellites.

Sputnik I was the world's first space satellite.

Sputnik British

/ ˈspʌt-, ˈspʊtnɪk /

noun

any of a series of unmanned Soviet satellites, Sputnik 1 (launched in 1957) being the first man-made satellite to orbit the earth

"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

Etymology

Origin of sputnik

1957; < Russian spútnik satellite, traveling companion, equivalent to s- together, with + put’ way, route + -nik agent suffix ( cf. -nik)

Vocabulary lists containing sputnik

2015 Spelling Bee - Words from Round 2

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The Vocabulary of Soviet-Era Nostalgia & Cold War Spy Words

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American History - Middle School

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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.

With his trademark delivery - unhurried and calm - he informed viewers of the first sputnik in space, and delivered the communiqués of the Communist Party.

From BBC • Oct. 30, 2021

This guy's not as imposing as a sputnik, but just as many bulbs.

From Salon • Mar. 14, 2021

All languages borrow words from other languages — Americans may recognize agitprop, sputnik, babushka or cosmonaut.

From Washington Post • Apr. 25, 2017

Shortly before my eighth birthday, the A-bombing of Japan and then the end of the war became our era’s sputnik in schools, though I was too young to notice.

From Slate • Jun. 8, 2012

"There was sputnik, you know," Ross interrupted sourly.

From The Common Man by Schelling, George Luther

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023