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Synonyms

space cadet

American  

noun

Slang.

  1. a person who appears to be in their own world or out of touch with reality.

  2. a person who behaves oddly or seems stupefied or remote because of the influence of drugs; druggie.

space cadet British  

noun

  1. slang a person who is eccentric or out of touch with reality, as if affected by drugs

"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

Etymology

Origin of space cadet

1950–55, for sense “spaceman trainee”

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.

People complain that it’s empty and boring, but for someone like me who’s always been a bit of space cadet, I can be that same space cadet but this time where it counts: in space!

From Los Angeles Times • May 5, 2020

I did the unthinkable and broke the space cadet code.

From BBC • Sep. 4, 2018

Still, Beasley provides size and scoring, and, despite having a reputation for being something of a space cadet, LeBron reportedly got along with the forward when they played together in Miami.

From Slate • Jul. 21, 2018

I had always thought that turning it off and letting it flow was a bunch of hippie space cadet psychic burn-out stuff.

From Salon • Jun. 9, 2018

G was always a little bit of a space cadet.

From "Popcorn" by Rob Harrell

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.