cosmic

adjective

cos·​mic ˈkäz-mik 

variants or less commonly cosmical

ˈkäz-mi-kəl 

1

a

: of or relating to the cosmos, the extraterrestrial vastness, or the universe in contrast to the earth alone

cosmic radiation

b

: of, relating to, or concerned with abstract spiritual or metaphysical (see metaphysical sense 2) ideas

cosmic wisdom

2

: characterized by greatness especially in extent, intensity, or comprehensiveness

a cosmic thinker

a book of cosmic significance

cosmically

ˈkäz-mi-k(ə-)lē 

adverb

Synonyms of cosmic

• giant
• gigantic
• huge
• vast
• tremendous
• enormous
• massive
• colossal
• astronomical
• mammoth
• monumental
• bumper
• immense
• titanic
• galactic
• monster
• planetary
• monstrous
• mountainous
• grand
• oceanic

Examples of cosmic in a Sentence

The discovery caused a cosmic shift in people's views of the world.

predicted that the war would forever be regarded as a cosmic error

Recent Examples on the Web

By deeply imaging a large volume of space, COSMOS-Web provides JWST's widest cosmic views. —Big Think, 29 Jan. 2026

Some of the game’s most evocative writing, blending cosmic horror with humanity’s loss of faith in itself, gets swallowed by that verbal density. —Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 29 Jan. 2026

The discovery reshapes how cosmic-ray experiments and dark-matter detectors model particle production. —Tejasri Gururaj, Interesting Engineering, 29 Jan. 2026

The journey through nine cosmic installations, from the multimedia entertainment studio Moment Factory, takes about an hour to complete. —Travis Pinson, Dallas Morning News, 29 Jan. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Greek kosmikos, from kosmos order, universe

First Known Use

1685, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing cosmic

• cosmic background radiation
• cosmic dust
• cosmic microwave background
• cosmic noise
• cosmic ray
• cosmic string

Rhymes for cosmic

• osmic
• microcosmic

Kids Definition

cosmic

adjective

cos·​mic ˈkäz-mik 

1

: of or relating to the cosmos

cosmic theories

2

: extremely vast : grand

cosmic dimensions