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Synonyms

cosmonaut

American  
[koz-muh-nawt, -not] / ˈkɒz məˌnɔt, -ˌnɒt /

noun

  1. a Russian or Soviet astronaut.


cosmonaut British  
/ ˈkɒzməˌnɔːt /

noun

  1. an astronaut, esp in the former Soviet Union

"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

cosmonaut Cultural  
  1. A crew member of a space mission launched by the former Soviet Union.


Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of cosmonaut

1955–60; cosmo- + (aero)naut, representing Russian kosmonávt

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Vocabulary lists containing cosmonaut

Example Sentences

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In March 1995 Valeri Polyakov, a Russian cosmonaut, returned to Earth after a record 14 consecutive months in space.

From The Wall Street Journal Feb. 19, 2026

In November, Russian cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev -- who had long been planned to be a member of Crew-12 -- was suddenly taken off the mission.

From Barron's Feb. 5, 2026

Fedyaev will make history as the first cosmonaut to fly twice on Dragon.

From Science Daily Feb. 2, 2026

And in 1987, a heart arrhythmia caused Soviet cosmonaut Aleksandr Laveykin to leave the Mir space station early.

From BBC Jan. 14, 2026

At the first dive, each cosmonaut had to write her full name and date on a piece of paper.

From "Women in Space" by Karen Bush Gibson

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