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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.

See Examples For:

"It's been too long cowboy," says space cadet Buzz - again voiced by Tim Allen - in the new trailer, released late on Thursday.

From BBC Feb. 20, 2026

Whatever they are paying play-by-play men who work with space cadet Bill, it ain’t enough.

From Los Angeles Times Mar. 8, 2019

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

The other panelists to stand out were Gabourey Sidibe, who said of Daniels: “He still calls me Precious,” and Terrence Howard, professional space cadet.

From The Guardian Mar. 13, 2016

G was always a little bit of a space cadet.

From "Popcorn" by Rob Harrell

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