cosmonaut

noun

cos·​mo·​naut ˈkäz-mə-ˌnȯt 

-ˌnät

: an astronaut of the Soviet or Russian space program

Examples of cosmonaut in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The countries have held joint military drills and signed a nuclear power development pact and agreed to cooperate in human space flight projects including the selection and training of Myanmar’s first cosmonaut. — ABC News, 17 Aug. 2026

In 1988, Abdul Ahad Momand became the first, and only, Afghan cosmonaut in space and made Pashto the fourth language ever spoken beyond Earth. — Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 5 Aug. 2026

There was also a stream of characters who visited the island, from a pop group to a movie producer, a mad scientist, and Russian cosmonauts. — Encyclopedia Britannica, 5 Aug. 2026

While aboard Salyut 6, those cosmonauts made astronomical observations and studied the effects of spaceflight on the human body. — Tariq Malik, Space.com, 29 July 2026

Word History

Etymology

Russian kosmonavt, from Greek kosmos + Russian -navt (as in aeronavt aeronaut)

First Known Use

1955, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for cosmonaut

• aeronaut
• aforethought
• afterthought
• apricot
• argonaut
• astronaut
• camelot
• coffeepot
• concordat
• entrepot
• flowerpot
• huguenot

Kids Definition

cosmonaut

noun

cos·​mo·​naut ˈkäz-mə-ˌnȯt 

-ˌnät

: a Soviet or Russian astronaut