taikonaut

British

/ ˈtaɪkəʊˌnɔːt /

noun

an astronaut from the People's Republic of China

"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 taikonaut

C20: from Cantonese taikon(g) cosmos + _-naut

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.

China held a send-off ceremony on Friday for a new crew of astronauts set to depart for its space station, including its youngest "taikonaut" and four lab mice.

From Barron's • Oct. 31, 2025

As an Air Force pilot, she accumulated 1,600 flight hours before being selected as a taikonaut, as the Chinese call astronauts.

From New York Times • Oct. 23, 2021

When we see a Chinese taikonaut or an Indian vyomanaut standing on the moon in 2020 or so, people will be asking, “Who lost space?”

From New York Times • Feb. 20, 2012

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023