astronaut
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of astronaut
1925–30; astro- + (aero)naut, probably via French astronaute; astronautical
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Explanation
An astronaut is someone who travels in space. While the term was once reserved for military-trained professionals, recent accessibility of space travel has seen the term astronaut now used to refer to anyone traveling in a spacecraft, including civilians. The word astronaut includes the root naut, from nautes, the Greek word for "sailor." This suffix can be used to create many travel-specific words. For example, the Argonauts were mythical Greek sailors on the ship named the Argo. Astronaut gets the astro from the Greek word astron, meaning "star," making an astronaut a “star sailor.” Russian space explorers took the title cosmonauts, with the cosmo part coming from the Greek for "universe," kosmos, so both have the same meaning.
Vocabulary lists containing astronaut
Occupations
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Elements of the Universe: Aster, Astro ("Star")
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astro, aster
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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.
During a call with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, the astronauts said they shared maple cream cookies while passing the far side of the moon, a nod to astronaut Jeremy Hansen’s home country.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 11, 2026
All members of Nasa's astronaut corps, including the four on Artemis II, are eligible.
From BBC • Apr. 10, 2026
Reflecting on the achievement, astronaut Hansen said the moment should "challenge this generation and the next, to make sure this record is not long-lived."
From Barron's • Apr. 10, 2026
Poetic Kinetics strategy director Marnie Sehayek said the astronaut became part of the Coachella brand as the “most photographed art piece in the festival’s history.”
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 10, 2026
But I’m sure it wouldn’t have been the same if the astronaut had said “The Spider has landed” when they first touched down on the moon’s surface.
From "Gone Crazy in Alabama" by Rita Williams-Garcia
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
