astronaut

[ as-truh-nawt, -not ]
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noun
  1. a person engaged in or trained for spaceflight.

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Origin of astronaut

1
1925–30; astro- + (aero)naut, probably via French astronaute;see astronautical

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British Dictionary definitions for astronaut

astronaut

/ (ˈæstrəˌnɔːt) /


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

Origin of astronaut

1
C20: from astro- + -naut from Greek nautēs sailor, on the model of aeronaut

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

Cultural definitions for astronaut

astronaut

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

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.