cosmonaut
Americannoun
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a Russian or Soviet astronaut.
noun
-
an astronaut, esp in the former Soviet Union
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A crew member of a space mission launched by the former Soviet Union.
Other Word Forms
- cosmonautic adjective
- cosmonautically adverb
Etymology
Origin of cosmonaut
1955–60; cosmo- + (aero)naut, representing Russian kosmonávt
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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.
In March 1995 Valeri Polyakov, a Russian cosmonaut, returned to Earth after a record 14 consecutive months in space.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 19, 2026
This late uncertainty is just the most recent twist for the SpaceX Crew-12 mission, which includes Americans Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, French astronaut Sophie Adenot and Russian cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev.
From Barron's • Feb. 5, 2026
Fedyaev will make history as the first cosmonaut to fly twice on Dragon.
From Science Daily • Feb. 2, 2026
Control of the ISS has been handed over to Russian cosmonaut Sergey Kud-Sverchkov and two other crew members.
From BBC • Jan. 14, 2026
At the first dive, each cosmonaut had to write her full name and date on a piece of paper.
From "Women in Space" by Karen Bush Gibson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.