cosmonaut

noun

cos·​mo·​naut ˈkäz-mə-ˌnȯt 

-ˌnät

: an astronaut of the Soviet or Russian space program

Examples of cosmonaut in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Crew-12 will be commanded by NASA astronaut Jessica Meir, with mission pilot Jack Hathaway, and mission specialists Sophie Adenot from the European Space Agency and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev. —Josh Dinner, Space.com, 10 Feb. 2026

The members of Crew-12 include NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, as well as the European Space Agency's Sophie Adenot and Russian cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev. —Eric Lagatta, USA Today, 10 Feb. 2026

Still, the station hasn’t been without NASA representation as astronaut Chris Williams remained on board having flown up with two cosmonauts on a Soyuz spacecraft last year. —Richard Tribou, The Orlando Sentinel, 6 Feb. 2026

Williams was launched to the outpost last November aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft along with commander Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and cosmonaut Sergey Mikaev. —William Harwood, CBS News, 3 Feb. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Russian kosmonavt, from Greek kosmos + Russian -navt (as in aeronavt aeronaut)

First Known Use

1955, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for cosmonaut

• aeronaut
• aforethought
• afterthought
• apricot
• argonaut
• astronaut
• camelot
• coffeepot
• concordat
• entrepot
• flowerpot
• huguenot

Kids Definition

cosmonaut

noun

cos·​mo·​naut ˈkäz-mə-ˌnȯt 

-ˌnät

: a Soviet or Russian astronaut