cosmic
Americanadjective
-
of or relating to the cosmos.
cosmic laws.
-
characteristic of the cosmos or its phenomena.
cosmic events.
-
immeasurably extended in time and space; vast.
- Synonyms:
- stupendous, enormous, immense
-
forming a part of the material universe, especially outside of the earth.
adjective
-
of or relating to the whole universe
cosmic laws
-
occurring or originating in outer space, esp as opposed to the vicinity of the earth, the solar system, or the local galaxy
cosmic rays
-
immeasurably extended in space or time; vast
-
rare harmonious
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of cosmic
1640–50; < Greek kosmikós worldly, universal, equivalent to kósm ( os ) world, arrangement + -ikos -ic
Explanation
If it has to do with the universe, it's cosmic. The planets, for instance, are cosmic bodies. When you use the word cosmic to describe something big, you often use it with the word, proportions. A big mistake might be an error of cosmic proportions. In the 1960s, when humankind had been exploring space for about 10 years, the word cosmic became commonly used to describe things that might be considered "far out" or groovy. Like wow, man!
Vocabulary lists containing cosmic
Elements of the Universe: Cosm, Cosmo ("Universe")
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The Launch of Sputnik 1
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The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
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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.
Scientists will use this information to investigate around 100,000 exoplanets, hundreds of millions of galaxies, billions of stars, and unusual cosmic events that may include objects or phenomena never previously observed.
From Science Daily • May 19, 2026
Researchers now hope to identify many more of these faint structures in order to build a broader picture of how matter flows through the cosmic web.
From Science Daily • May 16, 2026
For minerals you could imagine the “gravel” to be atomic elements, the “bucket” to be a cosmic cloud where atoms can bind into molecules and the feature of interest being chemical stability.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 15, 2026
Thinking at cosmic and subatomic scales requires plenty of math—or some visual metaphors.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 15, 2026
They were searching the cosmic radio background—that is, radio sources far beyond our solar system.
From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan
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.
