Illustration of cosmos
- cosmos 3
1
a
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: a complex orderly self-inclusive system
3
plural cosmos
ˈkäz-məs 
[New Latin, genus name, from Greek kosmos]
: any of a genus (Cosmos) of tropical American composite herbs
-məz
also cosmoses
ˈkäz-mə-səz
[New Latin, genus name, from Greek kosmos]
: any of a genus (Cosmos) of tropical American composite herbs
especially
: a widely cultivated tall annual (C. bipinnatus) with yellow or red disks and showy ray flowers
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Cosmos and the Universe
Cosmos often simply means "universe". But the word is generally used to suggest an orderly or harmonious universe, as it was originally used by Pythagoras in the 6th century B.C. Thus, a religious mystic may help put us in touch with the cosmos, and so may a physicist. The same is often true of the adjective cosmic: Cosmic rays (really particles rather than rays) bombard us from outer space, but cosmic questions come from human attempts to find order in the universe.
Examples of cosmos in a Sentence
the origins of the cosmos
an essay that ponders the place of humankind in the vast cosmos
Recent Examples on the Web
However, this movie has an undeniable asset: Cate Blanchett, one of the most undeniable stars in the entire cosmos.
—
Jordan Crucchiola, Vulture, 12 Aug. 2024
Within our cosmos, one force is inescapable: gravity.
—Janna Levin, Quanta Magazine, 29 Aug. 2024
Add plants that support all stages of the pollinators’ lifecycle, such as various types of milkweed, coneflowers, bee balm, and cosmos to feed pollinators from summer through fall.
—Peter Gorman, Hartford Courant, 29 Apr. 2024
But there are special moments in the lifetime of our universe—such as its infancy, when the whole cosmos was the size of an atom—for which this disregard for small-scale physics fails us.
—Edgar Shaghoulian, Scientific American, 1 Sep. 2022
See all Example Sentences for cosmos 
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Jordan Crucchiola, Vulture, 12 Aug. 2024
Within our cosmos, one force is inescapable: gravity.
—Janna Levin, Quanta Magazine, 29 Aug. 2024
Add plants that support all stages of the pollinators’ lifecycle, such as various types of milkweed, coneflowers, bee balm, and cosmos to feed pollinators from summer through fall.
—Peter Gorman, Hartford Courant, 29 Apr. 2024
But there are special moments in the lifetime of our universe—such as its infancy, when the whole cosmos was the size of an atom—for which this disregard for small-scale physics fails us.
—Edgar Shaghoulian, Scientific American, 1 Sep. 2022
See all Example Sentences for cosmos
Dictionary Entries Near cosmos
Cite this Entry
“Cosmos.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cosmos. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.
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