spacewalk

American  

[spays-wawk] / ˈspeɪsˌwɔk /

Or space walk

noun

1. a task or mission performed by an astronaut outside a spacecraft in space.

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verb (used without object)

1. to execute a task or mission outside a spacecraft in space.

spacewalk British  

/ ˈspeɪsˌwɔːk /

noun

1. Technical name: extravehicular activity. the act or an instance of floating and manoeuvring in space, outside but attached by a lifeline to a spacecraft

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verb

1. (intr) to float and manoeuvre in space while outside but attached to a spacecraft

Other Word Forms

• spacewalker
  noun

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Etymology

Origin of spacewalk

First recorded in 1960–65, Americanism; space + walk

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Explanation

When an astronaut gets out of an orbiting spacecraft, she spacewalks. The first person to spacewalk was Soviet cosmonaut Alexei Leonov, who floated outside his capsule in 1965. The verb spacewalk is precisely what you might imagine: to "walk" in space, drifting in orbit while tethered to a spacecraft. It's also a noun, the name for such an activity: "The first U.S. spacewalk occurred in 1965, when Ed White exited the Gemini spacecraft for 21 minutes." Astronauts today routinely perform spacewalks in order to repair space stations and do other outer-space maintenance tasks.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

spacewalk

It was also the 285th spacewalk conducted to support the assembly, maintenance, and improvement of the International Space Station.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 30, 2026

The astronauts also performed several preliminary tasks to prepare for another spacewalk scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 5.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 30, 2026

Tech billionaire Jared Isaacman has performed the first private spacewalk hundreds of miles above Earth.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2026

During the mission, Adenot became the first French female astronaut to venture outside the space station for a spacewalk.

From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2026

It’s like I’m on a spacewalk and somebody is sawing through the tether connecting me to the mother ship.

From "Shine!" by J.J. and Chris Grabenstein

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