astronaut

American  

[as-truh-nawt, -not] / ˈæs trəˌnɔt, -ˌnɒt /

noun

1. a person engaged in or trained for spaceflight.

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astronaut British  

/ ˈæstrəˌnɔːt /

noun

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

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astronaut Cultural  

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

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Etymology

Origin of astronaut

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

Compare meaning

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

• cosmonaut vs. astronaut

Example Sentences

The announced changes mean that Artemis 3, which was meant to send astronauts to the Moon's surface, will now have the different test goal of "rendezvous in low-Earth orbit" of at least one lunar lander.

From Barron's

Nasa is adding an extra mission to its Artemis programme before it attempts to land astronauts on the Moon for the first time in half a century.

From BBC

That means Artemis 3, which was meant to send astronauts to the Moon's surface, will now have the alternate goal of "rendezvous in low-Earth orbit" of at least one lunar lander.

From Barron's

The Mare basalts provided relatively smooth terrain, making them ideal landing sites for Apollo astronauts.

From Science Daily

On Friday, the space agency said that its Artemis II mission, which would see astronauts sent to the moon for the first time in 50 years, could launch as early as 6 March.

From BBC

Related Words

• cosmonaut
• pilot