astronaut

Definition

A member of the crew of a spaceship or other spacecraft that travels beyond Earth's atmosphere, or someone trained to serve that purpose.

Etymology

From astro- + -naut. Coined from Ancient Greek ἄστρον (ástron, “star”) and ναύτης (naútēs, “sailor”).

Example Sentences

• "Though from different social, economic, and political worlds, the astronauts and cosmonauts had much in common, both as professionals and human beings."
• "The American astronauts in the competing Mercury program may have joked about being “Spam in a can,” but it seems clear that Korolev wanted to have plenty of cosmonauts on hand in case another rocket blew up."
• "Longtime NASA astronaut Don Pettit, who has ventured to space four times, returned to Earth on Saturday night from the International Space Station. Pettit, who turned 70 on Sunday, landed at 9:20 p.m. ET in a Soyuz spacecraft with Roscosmos cosmonauts Alexey Ovchinin and Ivan Vagner near Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, after a seven-month stay aboard the orbiting laboratory. […] Space doesn't just appear dark to astronauts aboard the space station."

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