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

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Examples of astronaut in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Also on board are Soyuz MS-29 commander Pyotr Dubrov, cosmonaut Anna Kikina and NASA astronaut Anil Menon, who launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on July 14. — CBS News, 7 Oct. 2026

The Crew-12 astronauts were very busy during their nearly 10 months off Earth, performing a variety of maintenance work and dozens of scientific experiments. — Mike Wall, Space.com, 6 Oct. 2026

Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas reiterated a $300 price target for the company Monday, and last Thursday, SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket delivered four astronauts to the International Space Station in under eight hours — a record. — Oliver Renick, CNBC, 6 Oct. 2026

Used by the European Space Agency for astronaut training, the system is the first of its kind in Southeast Asia. — Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 5 Oct. 2026

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