astronaut

[as-truh-nawt, -not]

noun

1. a person engaged in or trained for spaceflight.

astronaut

/ ˈæstrəˌnɔːt /

noun

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

astronaut

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of astronaut¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of astronaut¹

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

Example Sentences

Understanding how the fast solar wind forms and behaves will also refine models of the heliosphere, which is vital for spacecraft engineering and astronaut safety.

Read more on Science Daily

When astronauts touch down near the moon's south pole in the coming years as part of NASA's Artemis program, they may discover a remarkable archive of clues about how the moon was born.

Read more on Science Daily

Mike Massimino, another astronaut, holds the distinction of being the first person to tweet from space.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

If the cuts go ahead, Aschbacher said, they could also affect shared missions such as the use of the International Space Station and the Artemis programme to put astronauts back on the Moon, he said.

Read more on Barron's

The people of the world saw their planet as the astronauts saw it - fragile and beautiful, shining in the desolation of space.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• cosmonaut 
• pilot