astronaut

noun

as·​tro·​naut ˈa-strə-ˌnȯt 

-ˌnät

plural astronauts

: a person whose profession is to travel beyond the earth's atmosphere

NASA on Wednesday introduced the group of astronauts it has chosen for upcoming missions to the moon. The program, called Artemis, aims to send people back to the moon for the first time since the end of NASA's Apollo program in 1972.

—Kenneth Chang

broadly : any person who travels beyond the earth's atmosphere

William Shatner, the 90-year-old actor of "Star Trek" fame, endured a 10-minute, rocket-powered ride to the edge of space … . In that moment, at least one thing became certain: Yes, a nonagenarian can be an astronaut.

—Jackie Wattles

Word Icons

Examples of astronaut in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Adding to her criticism, Munn said that only one of the six-person crew is an actual astronaut and compared the spaceflight to the popular California amusement park, Six Flags Magic Mountain, according to USA Today. —Samantha Mathewson, Space.com, 6 Apr. 2025

While Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin has launched non-pilot crews to the edge of space in sub-orbital New Shepard flights, no crew has flown to orbit without at least one member with aviation expertise or astronaut experience. —William Harwood, CBS News, 4 Apr. 2025

The second stage gives the last burst of power that drives the rocket’s cargo — whether a satellite or an astronaut capsule — to the speeds required to enter orbit around Earth. —Jackie Wattles, CNN Money, 4 Apr. 2025

Joining them for the ride home were fellow NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, who had also been in space for months. —Bailey Richards, People.com, 3 Apr. 2025

Word History

Etymology

astro- + -naut (in aeronaut)

Note: See note at astronautics.

First Known Use

1928, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for astronaut

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

Kids Definition

astronaut

noun

as·​tro·​naut ˈas-trə-ˌnȯt 

-nät

: a traveler in a spacecraft

astronautic

ˌas-trə-ˈnȯt-ik

adjective

or astronautical

-i-kəl,

-nät-

Etymology

from astro- "star, heavens" (derived from Greek astron "star") and -naut (derived from Greek nautēs "sailor," from naus "ship") — related to nausea, nautical see Word History at nausea