spacecraft

noun

space·​craft ˈspās-ˌkraft How to pronounce spacecraft (audio)
: a vehicle or device designed for travel or operation outside the earth's atmosphere

Examples of spacecraft in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Elon Musk’s spacecraft company will launch a third test flight for its rocket next week. Morgan Haefner, Quartz, 7 Mar. 2024 Views of Earth from spacecraft and the moon are constant reminders of our place in the solar system. Marshall Shepherd, Forbes, 2 Mar. 2024 The agency said that the TIMED spacecraft continued to function normally. Stephen Sorace, Fox News, 28 Feb. 2024 The mission demonstrated that a spacecraft could possibly be used in the future to change the path of an asteroid heading toward our planet. Will Sullivan, Smithsonian Magazine, 28 Feb. 2024 On Tuesday morning, the company said the spacecraft had about 10 to 20 hours before losing contact. Eric Lagatta, USA TODAY, 27 Feb. 2024 Luckily, there was an experimental lidar system by NASA on board the spacecraft. Amrita Khalid, The Verge, 26 Feb. 2024 During its second flight, in November, the spacecraft successfully separated from the booster. Christian Davenport, Washington Post, 2 Mar. 2024 A little more than two weeks later, the tech billionaire filed to reincorporate his spacecraft manufacturing company, SpaceX, in Texas. Antonio Pequeño Iv, Forbes, 1 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'spacecraft.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1929, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of spacecraft was in 1929

Dictionary Entries Near spacecraft

Cite this Entry

“Spacecraft.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/spacecraft. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

spacecraft

noun
space·​craft ˈspā-ˌskraft How to pronounce spacecraft (audio)
plural spacecraft
: a vehicle for travel beyond the earth's atmosphere

More from Merriam-Webster on spacecraft

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