sputnik
[ spoo t-nik, spuht-; Russian spoot-nyik ]
/ ˈspʊt nɪk, ˈspʌt-; Russian ˈsput nyɪk /
noun
(sometimes initial capital letter) any of a series of Soviet earth-orbiting satellites: Sputnik I was the world's first space satellite.
Words nearby sputnik
spurrey, spurrier, spurry, spurt, spurtle, sputnik, sputniks, sputter, sputtering, sputum, spuyten duyvil creek
Origin of sputnik
1957; < Russian spútnik satellite, traveling companion, equivalent to s- together, with + put’ way, route + -nik agent suffix (cf. -nik)
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for sputniks
I can almost remember the atomic bomb, and I sure as hell remember the sputniks.
This Crowded Earth|Robert Bloch
British Dictionary definitions for sputniks
Sputnik
/ (ˈspʊtnɪk, ˈspʌt-) /
noun
any of a series of unmanned Soviet satellites, Sputnik 1 (launched in 1957) being the first man-made satellite to orbit the earth
Word Origin for Sputnik
C20: from Russian, literally: fellow traveller, from s- with + put path + -nik suffix indicating agent
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Culture definitions for sputniks
Sputniks
[ (spoot-niks, sput-niks) ]
A series of Soviet satellites launched in 1957 and in following years. These were the first artificial satellites.
notes for Sputniks
The appearance of Sputnik stimulated a great deal of effort in the education of scientists and engineers in the United States. This period is now referred to as the post-Sputnik boom.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.